Half Moon
by tracefan
Summary: Is the moon half-empty or half-full? Through light and Darkness, the moon shines, inspiring romance. Before love can flourish, some rules must be compromised, but what may be the price to pay for an Eevee who follows her heart? Complete!
1. First Quarter Moon

A sprawling meadow lay before me, dotted with trees and bushes that offered shelter in the case of poorer weather. The orange light of the rising sun steadily expanded over the grass, the green stalks rustling in the early morning breeze. At my side, a second Eevee walked, her fur a light shade of brown that looked dark in comparison to my snow-white pelt.

"I think they're following us," my companion whispered, glancing over her shoulder with a giggle. I immediately knew she was referring to a pair of male Eevee that had been following us from a distance since we had started our walk.

"I hate April," I sighed, not looking behind me, "All the males start practicing their courting strategies."

"I just hate the rain," my friend said, looking up at the gray cloudy sky. I followed her gaze, but shrugged. It probably wasn't going to rain until this afternoon, but rain didn't bother me much. "I think they're walking faster," she added, looking over her shoulder again.

"Stop encouraging them," I muttered from the side of my mouth, "Ignore them."

"Hey, wait up!" one of the males called. Naturally, my friend stopped walking, but I rolled my eyes and continued. It took my companion a few seconds to realize she wasn't 'supposed' to stop and she hurried to catch up with me.

"We stop when WE want to stop," I told her irritably. She nodded, but looked behind us again. "Stop doing that!" I hissed at her sharply.

"Why?"

"Because that's what they want you to do," I explained, rolling my eyes. The other Eevee looked at me blankly. "Who the hell taught you about courting?" I demanded. This was supposed to be one of the first things a female Eevee learned about after passing the age of a year, so how come she seemed not to understand the concept of making the male come to you?

"Uh...I don't remember, that was two years ago," she whined. I sighed again, but dropped the subject, stopping at our usual hangout location, only a little ways outside our clan territory. I knew there were still a few clan members that patrolled the area, so it was considered perfectly all right to be here, so long as we didn't go too far.

"None of the others are here yet," I noted, sitting down and casually grooming my white fur. "Well, let's get this over with," I muttered, looking up at the approaching males. Now that we had stopped, I could tell the males were very hesitant. My friend sat next to me, staring at them, her brown furred tail swishing energetically. I worry about her sometimes.

"Hey, you two, uh...what's up?" asked one of the males, whose name I couldn't recall. The other one only smiled nervously.

"Nothing, just waiting for our friends to arrive," I said, pausing my grooming to look at them, but just as quickly returned to my task.

"Uh, can we keep you company until they come?" the same male asked hopefully, his ears perking up.

"Sure," my friend said brightly. I winced, but didn't object. The two males looked relieved and walked over, exchanging looks, clearly undecided on which one would sit next to which female.

"We didn't say you could sit near us," I pointed out, watching with slight amusement as they stopped in their tracks, looking unsure about what to do. Hm, maybe April did have some benefits; I could laugh at the clumsy attempts at courting. I'm pretty sure all the clan males were taught as one group, and so the less ambitious ones followed the lesson plan literally, rather than developing their own style of approach.

"But we MIGHT let them if..." my friend paused and giggled. Both males stared at her. "If you kissed," she finished cutely. My eyes widened.

"...each other?" the more nervous male asked.

"Yeah," my companion giggled. The males exchanged uncomfortable glances before one of them tentatively touched his mouth to the cheek of the other male. They backed away extremely quickly.

"No ambition at all," I said with an exaggerated scoff of disappointment, catching on to what my friend was hoping for.

"...you'll let us sit by you...if we kiss each other?" the male repeated, looking at us suspiciously.

"Why not?" I agreed, grinning a little. My female companion nodded eagerly. A subtle whine left the throat of one of the males, and they stepped off to the side to talk to each other. Despite their attempt at privacy, I clearly heard the phrase 'take one for the team'.

"It'll be worth letting them sit by us just to see them kiss, right?" my friend whispered, giggling.

"You're so mean, Kira," I said, stifling a giggle of my own. The two males had apparently come to a decision, because they walked towards us again.

"You promise you'll let us sit near you?" one of them asked, sounding paranoid.

"Cross our hearts," Kira responded, making a slashing motion across her chest. The males nodded and looked at each other uncomfortably. The more confident of the two leaned forward and touched his mouth to his fellow male's. Kira's eyes glazed a little as she watched and I giggled into my paw.

"HEY! What do you think you're DOING?!" a loud voice shouted, alarming the four of us. The two males broke apart, their cheeks burning crimson. I winced at the volume of the shout, cringing as the yellow spined pelt of one of the clan's patrollers came into view. The Jolteon's quills were shaking with anger and the occasional spark of electricity leapt from his fur. "We'll have none of that sort of thing in this clan!" the Jolteon shouted, storming over to the terrified males and seizing one of them roughly by the ear. The Eevee whimpered and the other backed away anxiously.

"Ah crud," Kira complained under her breath.

"You two, come with me!" the Jolteon snapped, practically dragging his captive back towards the direction of the rest of the clan. The other Eevee looked faint, giving us a terrified glance.

"Sorry," my companion said, her ears drooping apologetically. Shaking, the male followed the Jolteon.

"What was that about?" an Eevee asked as she and two other Eevee about our age came over, looking curiously towards the departing Eevee. I giggled.

"Kira convinced them to kiss, Petal," I whispered.

Petal blinked, "...why?"

"You don't think that's attractive?" Kira asked, sounding surprised. Petal shook her head.

"That's gross," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"What about two males wrestling?" Kira pressed, her tail flicking with amusement.

"That's normal battling," Petal said, sniffing as if the entire conversation was rude. The two Eevee accompanying her were male, so we chose to change the subject rather than see if Petal's opinion was the only one that differed from ours, and before long we were playing a rousing morning game of tag.

I had just tagged one of the males, when we heard an unfamiliar voice call, "Excuse me."

"What was that?" Petal demanded, her fur bristling as she looked around. The answer to that question soon surfaced in the form of a canine with bright orange fur decorated with black stripes. It had thick, creamy fur on its stomach, tail and on top of its head. This particular Growlithe had particularly soft brown eyes and stood a bit taller than any of us.

"Hello," the fire canine said politely. Almost every Eevee backed away from the canine as if it were disease-ridden, their expressions a mixture of disgust and fear. Kira cringed a little, but she didn't match the expressions of the other Eevee. I scowled at them and stayed where I was.

"Hi," I said. The Growlithe smiled a little, giving the other Eevee a look of bewilderment.

"I guess they're shy?" he asked, gesturing towards the repulsed Eevee. I sighed.

"More or less," I answered vaguely.

"Ooh, Darkness," one of male Eevee said in a childish tattling tone, "you're talking to a Growlithe."

"Bite me," I snapped back. That shut him up nicely.

"You'll get in trouble," Petal warned. I rolled my eyes.

"That rule is stupid, anyway," I muttered. The Growlithe looked at us blankly.

"Go away, you ugly Growlithe!" one of the males growled, trying to appear threatening. The fire canine flinched. Ugh, and this is what the clan teaches the kits; that all Pokémon that aren't Eevee are not to be trusted and should be avoided, under penalty of clan punishment. It's the most ridiculous and paranoid teaching I've ever heard, and our clan had about a dozen other rules just like it.

"Why don't you go away?" I snapped at this Eevee, who promptly recoiled and hid behind Petal. "What did you want?" I asked the Growlithe politely.

"Ooh, we're telling!" the male Eevee warned in the same tattling tone as before, and he walked away, Petal and the other male following quickly. Kira hesitated and looked at me uncertainly. I shrugged and waited for the Growlithe to answer, dimly aware that she chose to follow the others, leaving me alone with the canine.

"Uh, nice friends you've got," he muttered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with a paw. I shrugged.

"Sorry about them," I said.

"I was just going to ask if anyone knew where there were Rawst berries around," the Growlithe said with a sigh. "My name's Alister." I blinked, surprised that he didn't have a name more fitting of his specie, but then again I can't really talk unless I become an Umbreon.

"I'm Darkness," I said. He smiled and nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking...why did you get named that?" he asked, no hint of taunting evident in his question.

"From what I heard, my parents had decided on the name 'Dark' if I was male. The question apparently came up with what if I was female, which I am," I explained, giggling briefly. The fire canine smirked briefly but nodded politely for me to continue. "Well, there's some sort of naming thing where you add 'ess' or 'a' to the end of a male name to make it female. So they toyed with that, I guess. 'Darka' didn't sound good and 'Darkess' sounded awkward, so they made it 'Darkness'."

"Oh, I see," Alister said. He looked me over briefly and I knew what he was thinking.

"When I was born, I was born with this white fur," I said, gesturing to myself. "I was female, and they kept the name 'Darkness' for irony's sake. I don't really know my parents, since they weren't really identified to me when I was old enough to remember. Most of us are raised by everyone in the clan, you know?"

"Kind of, I belong to a pack and we follow the same sort of thing," Alister agreed. "Now, I don't want to keep you. I was just looking for Rawst berries."

"Oh, there's a bush of them a little bit that way, I think," I told him, pointing him in the right direction. He thanked me and hurried off. I think he was embarrassed by how the other Eevee had acted towards him and was in a hurry to go before I got in trouble or something. I shrugged and turned to return to the clan grounds, picking up my pace just as the clouds overhead spilled some rain down from the heavens.

* * *

"You could have gotten in trouble," Kira told me later that night. I nodded, but in truth I didn't really care. "Petal was going to drop a hint to one of the elders."

"I don't care," I muttered. Kira blinked at me. "Well, we'll probably never see him again anyway, so what does it matter?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kira agreed, lying down in the grass to sleep. I stayed awake a while longer, thinking. We probably wouldn't see the Growlithe again, but part of me hoped we would. It wasn't fair how the clan treated those of a different species, just because they were different.

* * *

Several days passed without incident. It was about noon, and a large portion of the clan had gathered together so that the leaders could address the maturing Eevee. Unsurprisingly, part of the lesson or whatever focused on the upcoming courting season. I knew all this stuff already, so I wasn't really paying much attention.

"...use caution..." Yeah, caution to avoid males or females of other specie lines because they're 'no good' and all kits born from such an unholy union were disgraces to the Eevee bloodline. I hate listening to this crap.

After what felt like an eternity of mindless existence, I just got up and left, finding a fluttering Butterfree far more interesting than whatever stupid rules they were going over. I followed the insect Pokémon a little ways, barely aware of where I was going. The Butterfree paused its flight and gazed at me somewhat curiously. I giggled and crouched as if to pounce, my tail flicking energetically. After sitting for who knows how long, I had a lot of pent up energy.

The Butterfree made a slight giggling sound and flapped its wings, dodging me when I pounced at it. It hovered a little bit off the ground, staying at a height where I could tackle it without overexerting myself. I grinned and pounced at it again, but it darted forward, knocking me onto my back, twittering with amusement as I righted myself and pounced at it again.

"Why, I recognize that pretty white fur, anywhere," chuckled a familiar male voice. I looked up and smiled a little as the vaguely familiar Growlithe walked into view. It was his eyes that I recognized more than anything. They were an instantly recognizable shade of brown and were filled with gentle warmth, a sharp contrast to how the clan said that most Houndour or Growlithe were vicious killers. "Darkness, right?"

"Alister, right?" I echoed, waving a paw at him.

"I didn't expect to see you around here," Alister said, looking around. I hesitated and looked around as well, unsure precisely where I was. I glanced back the way I came, satisfied that I was still within an appropriate distance of the clan grounds. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, since you're the only one that was friendly to me," he assured me with a chuckle. I smiled in agreement.

"This Butterfree's teasing me," I complained, pointing at the butterfly Pokémon, which twittered, still hovering in the same spot it was when Alister had first distracted me. Alister glanced at the Butterfree blankly, but then grinned and pounced at it. Caught by surprise, the Butterfree squeaked and narrowly dodged the larger Growlithe. I pounced at it next, successfully knocking it out of the air, but I was careful not to damage its wings.

"Nice one," Alister praised.

"You helped," I reminded him, getting off the Butterfree, which giggled sweetly as it returned to the air and fluttered off. "So what are doing here?" I asked him.

"Just taking a walk," he said, breathing deeply. "Get in some exercise while I can. Otherwise I get all tired and irritable."

"You normally lazy?" I asked. Alister shook his head, chuckling. I noticed his brown eyes seemed to shine when he laughed.

"DARKNESS!" a voice shouted from behind me. I cursed under my breath, cringing from the force of the shout. Alister blinked and quickly took a few paces back. "What do you think you're DOING?!"

"Playing!" I shouted back, losing my temper. Big mistake, seeing as the Flareon scolding me was right behind me. I didn't realize he was so close.

"You know the rules, Darkness!" the fire type shouted in my face. I shut my eyes when drops of moisture hit my face, my fur bristling from the stress of being shouted at. "And you, Growlithe, GET LOST!"

"Hey! He didn't do anything!" I protested. Alister stepped back quickly.

"I'm sorry," he muttered to the Flareon.

"GET GOING!" the Flareon snapped, baring his teeth angrily, then turning and storming back towards the clan grounds. "Follow me, Darkness!" he ordered without looking back. I winced and looked at Alister apologetically.

"Sorry," the Growlithe said weakly. "Looks like I got you in trouble after all..."

"Don't worry about it," I muttered. "They just have stupid stupid rules. It doesn't matter."

"Well...guess this is good-bye," Alister said.

"DARKNESS! GET OVER HERE!"

"I'm coming!" I shouted back, then glanced at Alister. "That's stupid. I'll see you around, 'kay?"

"How?"

"See that hill? I can't point, they'll see me pointing. Tomorrow night, wait there," I whispered. Alister blinked. "They'll be watching me tonight. And night is the only time we can meet, when everyone else is sleeping, 'kay?"

"You sure? I don't want to cause more trouble..." he said hesitantly.

"You won't be, just meet me there," I insisted.

"This doesn't seem very smart," Alister said uncertainly.

"And these rules are stupid," I growled, "Look, just be there. See you then." With that, I turned and hurried to catch up to the pissed off Flareon. In my mind's eye, I could still see the weak smile the Growlithe had given me before I had left. I could still see the small shine in his eyes when he laughed.

* * *

"What did you DO?" Kira demanded that night, looking at me with an appalled expression. She, like everyone else in the entire clan, had probably heard the shouting lecture I had received from the clan leaders, even though they hadn't been able to pick up what was being shouted.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my ear. Being shouted at by several adult Eons for about an hour had left me hard of hearing for the rest of the day. Kira repeated her question. "I ran into Alister again," I muttered.

"Who?"

"The Growlithe from the other day," I explained, rubbing my ear again. "I'm meeting him tomorrow."

"WHAT?!"

"Shut up!" I snarled, covering her mouth with a paw.

"Sorry," Kira mumbled. "What?"

"I'm meeting him tomorrow night," I repeated, sitting down and grooming my fur. Kira, distracted, wandered over and began to help so that I could finish explaining what had happened.

"I don't know, Darkness," she said uncertainly. "If you get caught..."

"Ugh, it'll be fine, Kira!" I growled, curling up, "Just be quiet and let me sleep." The smaller Eevee nodded and lay down near me as I looked up at the sky. A strange churning sensation filled my stomach as I thought about tomorrow night. It was a feeling I had never felt before, yet I somehow knew it had to do with Alister. But that couldn't be it...could it? Was it normal to feel this way so soon? I couldn't ask anyone about it; I wasn't close enough to anyone who would know, but...I just couldn't shake this feeling, this knowledge.

I think I'm in love.


	2. Second Quarter Moon

The following morning dragged on forever. I found myself getting pestered by almost every overcurious Eevee in the whole clan, all of them wanting to know why the leaders were so upset at me. Petal apparently already knew, or at least suspected, and was more than happy to provide the curious Eevee as much information as she could. I don't know what she was telling them because I went to my quiet spot: a generally deserted and hard to find patch of grass in the corner of the clan grounds. Almost no one ever came around here, so I used it as a place to rest when being around others got on my nerves. Kira was the only friend who knew where it was, but she's also the one who found it in the first place.

The quiet was perfect for reflecting on the strange feelings I had experienced the other night. Could I actually be in love? Was it normal to feel that way, after not even knowing the person for more than an extremely short time? I had heard childhood stories of Eevee falling in love at first sight with one another, but this wasn't a story, it was real life. How could I love someone I didn't know? Was it because he wasn't an Eevee that drew me to this feeling, or was it his personality, or that amazing smile and shine in his soft brown eyes...ugh, now I couldn't get it out of my head. This had to be the reason I insisted he meet me tonight, but I hadn't felt this way when I made the arrangement. My stomach felt like it was doing somersaults and my mind refused to abandon the thought of the Growlithe. What if he didn't come? What if I waited there and he never showed up? My stomach abruptly felt like it had been kicked and I whimpered, my eyes watering until I regained my composure. What was wrong with me?

I must have fallen asleep there because it was evening when Kira prodded me, her face concerned. "You okay, Darkness?" she asked. "Have you been here all day?"

"I guess," I muttered, stretching and looking at the sky. Kira looked worried.

"Darkness..." she began but I shook her off.

"I'm fine, really."

"Well, I...brought you some berries, if you're hungry," she said, nudging a bunch of fruit towards me with her muzzle. I was about to say that I wasn't hungry, but my stomach interrupted me mid-word with a loud growl. Kira giggled and nudged the berries again.

I obligingly ate the berries, thanking Kira once I had finished.

She giggled shyly, "No problem." She paused and looked at me worriedly, "You're...still going out tonight?"

"Yeah," I said defensively.

"Just...be careful," she pleaded.

"I will."

"You say that all the time. This time, really be careful!"

"I will!"

"Darkness..."

"What?!" I demanded. Kira flinched, but sighed.

"I don't want you to get in trouble again," she muttered. I felt a twinge of guilt at her sad tone and licked her cheek to try and cheer her up. The other Eevee smiled weakly. "Don't go out near our hangout. There are more patrollers there at night. Go the long way."

I blinked, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Kira whispered, licking my cheek. She sniffed my fur once. "Were you sleeping in dandelions?"

"Uh..." I faltered, looking back at the spot I had slept on, a faint crimson blush forming when I saw a patch of crushed yellow buds. Kira giggled and pointed at a spot on my back.

"Your fur's yellow here," she told me. I scowled, looking over my shoulder at the yellow pollen that was clinging to my otherwise white fur.

"Fine, I'll bathe before I go," I muttered, hurrying towards the clan's communal bathing stream.

* * *

Thankfully, the stream was deserted when I got there. I always hated washing in front of others; it felt like all the attention was on me, even if no one was paying attention. Having white fur in a clan of brown furred Eevee made me stand out, but strangely, this was rarely ever called to anyone's attention. No one teased me about being different; the males didn't fawn over me any more than they did to the other Eevee, and so I had accepted that I was no different from anyone else.

"Ahem." I looked up at the sound of someone clearing her throat and flinched when I saw one of the clan leaders, a female feline with short lavender fur. A small red gemstone glinted on her forehead and her eyes were focused upon me.

"What?" I asked, shifting nervously. Just the type of Pokémon I didn't want to meet a mere hour or two before planning on sneaking out to meet a forbidden Pokémon. I wasn't sure if the Espeon was the type to randomly read minds; she didn't during the lecture yesterday, at least not that I knew of.

"It's a bit late for a bath," the psychic feline pointed out. I twitched.

"I'm a little behind on my sleeping preparations," I managed to mutter. The psychic type studied me in silence for a few seconds.

"Darkness, I hope you learned your lesson from the other day. You can't wander off like you did, and you need to understand the rules about other species..."

"Well, I don't understand," I interrupted.

"You...don't?" the Espeon repeated.

"No, it's a stupid thing to make a rule about," I grumbled. "What's wrong with other species to the point where you're all telling all the kits to hate them?"

The psychic feline sighed before answering, "I'll admit the rule is taken to an extreme at times, but we just don't want to risk anyone in our clan being forever dishonored and their bloodline contaminated. It is the type of dishonor that never goes away. All that Eevee's descendants would be considered less pure, and worse, those descendants can contaminate the bloodlines of other clan members, because they aren't pure either."

"So all the hatred is so other species don't have kits with us?"

"Essentially. There is too much risk that a male of another specie will find a female clan member and one thing will lead to another. It's for the protection of that member and others that we enforce these rules harshly. Without honor, you have nothing."

I scowled, "So if the Growlithe the other day was female, you'd have no problems?"

"We'd have fewer problems," the Espeon admitted. "But if we allow one past our rules, it encourages others to come."

"Oh, so male Eevee get free choice, but female Eevee are-"

"No," the psychic type corrected promptly. "If a male Eevee selects a mate of another specie, he is given a deadline to move out of the clan. A mutual exile. For if his mate lives here, her kits may befriend an Eevee and become a mate to him or her, thus restarting the cycle. Furthermore, he may hook an Eevee and ruin the descendants' honor by being related, by half-blood, to another specie. The descendant may be pure, but the honor is tarnished. We must preserve the clan's dignity by disallowing the practice entirely."

I sighed. Even when it's spelled out like this, it's ridiculous. Were Eevee really so arrogant that the mere thought of being part of an inter-specie family was mortifying? How were they supposed to go through life avoiding all contact with other species?

I was still mulling this over when I snuck out later that night. Kira's advice had paid off, because I didn't encounter any patrollers on the clan border. Climbing up the slope of the hill a little ways from the clan grounds took a little longer; I had never actually tried climbing up in the middle of the night, and other clan members were only allowed to go up there in supervised groups in broad daylight. The night was quiet except for my breathing and the whistle of the wind in the trees, leaving a mildly eerie feel to the surroundings.

At the top of the hill, I sat down under a large oak tree to catch my breath. From my position, I could look over the vast meadow and forest that made up the surrounding landscape. Off in the distance, just beyond the large meadow, a human city stood. It was positioned in such a way that few humans or Pokémon would ever bother to cross the meadow to the grounds of our clan, which was partially hidden by the dense foliage in the corner of the meadow. Surprisingly, our clan didn't have any noticeable anti-human leanings. We were warned about potential dangers of encountering humans, such as being captured or the humans coming after our clan, but there wasn't the same venom behind the warnings. We are such a messed up specie.

"Darkness?" I turned at the sound of my name, my heart leaping to my throat. Alister was walking towards me and in the faint light of the moon I could see his brown eyes shining. "Oh good, it is you," the Growlithe said, sounding relieved.

"White fur gives it away," I said, grinning. He chuckled.

"I suppose so," he said. "I hope you didn't get in too much trouble on my behalf..."

"Eh, could have been worse," I shrugged, rubbing my ear with one paw.

"Why did you want me to come here so badly?" Alister inquired. I smiled a little.

"I think we should try to stay in contact," I said, expecting the question. I had actually gone over what I was going to say before I had come here.

Alister sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Look, I really don't have a problem with other species, but the rest of the clan does," I said. "You seem so different from how the clan talks about other species and I just want to get to know someone, anyone, who I know is different from that unfair perception they force the kits to believe."

"I understand that," Alister assured me. "But if your clan forbids it..."

"They don't have to know about it. That's why we'd meet at night, maybe here, maybe somewhere else. You don't have to go near the clan!"

"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me," Alister insisted. I sighed in annoyance, but felt rather warm inside. He was so concerned about me.

"Alister," I began, "this is important to me. I don't want to be trapped in the same line of thought the rest of the clan is. I hate how they treat other species. Just because they're different, doesn't make them scum. I'm different, but everyone treats me just fine. Nothing here will change. So the only way I can get to know anyone outside the clan is if I break rules to do it."

"Even if we did keep in contact, we can't meet every night," Alister argued. I notice he's not really arguing against meeting anymore. "Someone would notice, whether from your clan or my pack."

"That's true," I admitted. Dang, I hadn't thought of that. "But meeting every night is overkill, anyway. How often do you think you can get out without drawing attention?"

"Every few days for sure. It depends on what's going on," Alister answered.

"Is there a problem with your pack? Would they be against this?"

"They wouldn't want to get involved in a feud with your clan, let's say that. They know your clan hates us. I stumbled upon you guys the first time by accident. I got lost. I don't know if they'd forbid us being in contact, but they sure aren't going to encourage it, and I don't want pressure from them."

"Hmm...so, when would we meet again after this?" I asked. Alister considered it for a moment, staring up at the starlit sky.

"Two nights from now work?" he asked finally.

"Night after next?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, that'll work."

"So plan on that? What if something happens?"

"Like what?"

"Anything. Something that keeps you from leaving your clan or me being busy with something?"

"Then...the following night?" I asked.

"I don't like the idea of you sneaking out two nights in a row..." Alister frowned.

"Ugh, you worry too much."

"I'm cautious," he replied.

"Definitely worry."

"Whatever. So night after next?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Look, I'm going to get going; I said I'd only be gone for a short time and the last thing I need is someone going after me. More time next time, I promise."

"Oh, okay. Uh...see you then," I said, a little surprised. Alister smiled, my stomach doing a strange flip flop as his handsome brown eyes shone in the faint moonlight. The Growlithe helped me climb down the hillside safely and bade me good night. I looked over my shoulder as I walked cautiously back towards the clan and was disappointed that he was already gone. "Good night," I mumbled.

* * *

"...hello? Johto to Darkness, hello?"

I blinked as a paw waved in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze. "Huh? What?"

"Sheesh, you okay?" Petal asked, squinting at my face. "I've been trying to talk to you for like...five minutes."

"Sorry," I muttered. I hadn't been able to focus all day, which ended up giving Kira the impression I was ignoring her. She was probably sulking somewhere; I'll look for her later. Now Petal was annoyed that I wasn't answering her. "What were you saying?"

"Never mind," the Eevee sighed. "You clearly aren't interested." And she wandered off. I shrugged and let my thoughts drift again. Unfortunately, a male Eevee pattered over to me, looking somewhat relieved about something.

"Hi," he said shyly.

I sighed. "What?"

"Um...I was...just wondering if you wanted something to eat?"

"No."

"Do you want some company?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Go away, please."

"Did I do something?" the Eevee asked, twitching nervously.

"Just go away!" I snapped. The male flinched and walked away, looking crestfallen.

The following day was not much better, either. At least two males tried to practice courting techniques, but I lost patience with them almost immediately. I didn't want to be courted right now. Apparently word was getting around that I was cranky because one of the clan leaders came over to ask me if something was wrong. I should be flattered that they actually sent one of the leaders to talk to me, but I think it was more in case I tried to attack the person talking to me; the leaders were much stronger than I could ever hope to be, even during temper tantrums.

I insisted that I was fine and nothing was wrong, but I know he wasn't convinced. At least he left me alone. After that, I noticed some of the other clan members whispering amongst themselves. One of the more confident male Eevee wandered over and tried to talk to me, but I didn't answer most of his friendly questions. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just want to be left alone with my thoughts.

"You're looking rather beautiful today," the male Eevee was saying, smiling at me. I bristled, fighting the blush creeping across my face. "Whoa, take it easy," the Eevee said gently, licking my fur to groom it back into place. I responded by swiping him across the face with my paw. He recoiled in shock, blinking at me and touching his face tentatively.

"Leave me alone," I growled.

"Sorry," the Eevee muttered, studying me curiously. "Talk to you at dinner, perhaps?"

"No."

"Come on, just let's have dinner, and see how you feel afterwards."

"No, I'm not interested!"

"Come on, Dark, give me a chance..." the rest of the sentence was cut off by me slamming my head into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped, swiping a paw at me defensively. I jerked back and tackled his side, knocking him over. There was the sound of excited murmuring and cries of shock from the surrounding Eevee, but I ignored them, biting down on the stunned Eevee's ear. He yelped in pain and kicked out suddenly, throwing me off him.

"DON'T call me 'Dark'!" I hissed, breathing heavily. The male got up with as much dignity as he could muster in the situation.

"Sheesh, sorry. Don't have to be such a-"

"WHAT? Such a what?" I demanded, stepped towards him aggressively.

"Darkness, calm down," Kira urged, hurrying over. No doubt she had heard the commotion, because she hadn't been around before.

"I'm fine, Kira," I grumbled. My friend frowned and rubbed against my side with friendly affection. I didn't respond and walked away, the regularly furred Eevee following closely.

* * *

"You need to be careful, Darkness," Kira said in a whisper, when we were down at the bathing stream a little later that day. "If you keep making scenes, they're going to monitor you more and then you won't be able to do...whatever."

"I don't want to be courted. Not by them," I grumbled, grooming my fur with a damp paw. Kira blinked.

"Uh...what?"

I winced, "Nothing."

"You like him, don't you?"

"Leave it alone."

"Wow, you DO. I've never seen you so defensive!" Kira giggled.

"So maybe I do, so what?" I demanded. My friend grinned. "You can't tell anyone," I reminded her.

"I know, but still...that's so cute," Kira teased. Great, now I was never going to be able to hear the end of this. Then again, she probably suspected that already, since she knew I was going to keep meeting Alister.

"Just keep your mouth shut," I sighed, looking up at the darkening sky with a tickle of excitement in my stomach. I longed to see the Growlithe's soft brown eyes, shining in the light of the moon, yearned to hear his gentle breathing, his gentle voice carefully speaking to me. Part of me wanted to see how soft and warm his fur was, but this was the weakest of the desires. We didn't know each other that well yet, no matter how badly I wished that we did.

"Darkness...what about next month with courting season?" Kira whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

"You're not seeing anyone in the clan. Someone's going to notice you're single," Kira whispered.

"I'll deal with it when we get to that," I muttered. "Are you covering for me tonight? Making sure no one notices I'm gone?"

"Yeah, of course," Kira assured me. I smiled and licked her cheek gratefully. She was a true friend, not judging me for who I liked, and taking the care to make sure I got away with it. She was like a sister to me sometimes.

* * *

The moon was shining brightly that evening when I reached the top of the hill. The sky was cloudless, allowing the glittering stars to show up more clearly against the dark blanket of sky. My ears twitched, listening for the sounds of an approaching Growlithe, but all I heard was the rustling of the leaves in the wind. I paced impatiently, my stomach aching. Where was he? Was he going to show? Did he not plan on coming?

Several minutes passed, but it felt like hours. I had stopped pacing and was curled up under the tree, my ears twitching with a faint spark of optimism. Come on, where are you? But still I heard nothing but the whistle of the wind.

I started to lose hope. He wasn't coming. I had been waiting for so long and still no sign of him. Had he gotten sidetracked? Was he busy? Or did he just decide he didn't want to come? A quiet whimper left my throat, but I was barely aware of it. I had hoped...I had looked forward to tonight, looked forward to seeing him, but I guess he just wasn't coming.

I got up and sighed, my tail flicking sadly. I guess this was just a waste of time, then. Maybe he'd be here tomorrow night, if I even had the heart to come back. I started down the hill, my eyes aching as I fought to keep them from watering. At the bottom of the hill, I stopped to wipe my eyes, looking up towards the hilltop, but didn't see any quadruped silhouette by the tree where we'd meet. He hadn't come.

The walk back to the clan was one of the most depressing moments in my life. All my hopes, excitement, and expectations in the past day had been ripped away, leaving disappointment and unhappiness.

A tap on my shoulder jerked me forcefully from my thoughts and I yelped loudly. "Shh!" Alister's hush was followed by a gentle paw covering my mouth. "Sorry," he whispered, letting go of me.

"What the hell?!" I hissed, glaring at the Growlithe. He grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I was late, but I saw you leaving and didn't want to shout to you," he explained.

"So you sneak up behind me and tap my shoulder?" I demanded.

"I wasn't that quiet," he argued. "You were just distracted. I'm sorry."

"Ugh..." I grunted, taking deep breaths to soothe my nerves.

"I guess it's getting too late for us to do anything tonight?" he asked. "You were leaving...so I thought you waited too long for me?" His tone was questioning, like he wasn't actually sure what I was doing.

"I'm fine. I just didn't want to wait if you weren't coming," I muttered.

"Sorry," Alister said again. "So what's going on?"

"Not much," I said, the warm feeling in my stomach returning. I fought back my urge to rub against him like I do to most of my Eevee friends. We're big on friendly affection, but he probably wouldn't know that, and I didn't want to discomfort him.

"I was wondering about that. What would we do when we meet?" the Growlithe asked. "I understand the first time was just a quick meeting to decide whether we'd see each other more, but what would we do in other cases?"

"What other friends do, I guess. Play, talk, whatever."

Alister chuckled, "Except in the middle of the night?"

"Pretty much. Problem with that?"

"No, not really," he laughed.

"What do other Growlithe usually play with each other?" I asked curiously. After all, if I was going to hang out with a Growlithe, it would be more beneficial to understand the specie.

"Play fighting, tag, wrestling...probably the same as Eevee do; we're a similar enough specie," Alister said, shrugging. "What do you normally do?"

"Almost the same thing," I admitted. "Usually in groups, sometimes one-on-one or teams. It's probably more fun at night, when you can't see each other as well."

"So you want to try-" Alister grunted as I swatted a paw at him. I gigged and stepped back, my tail swishing as he stared at me. I growled playfully, showing Alister that I was being playful, not aggressive. He chuckled, "All right, then."

We watched each other for a few seconds until he darted forward, swiping my legs out from under me. I stumbled and he gave me a quick shove to knock me over. I giggled, rolling back to my feet. He swung a paw and tripped me again almost immediately.

"What's wrong, can't get up?" he teased. I rolled back up, only to get tackled by the large canine. He hopped off me and offered a paw to help me stand up. I grinned and bit at his paw playfully, using his recoil to get to my feet without danger of being tripped again. "Nice one," he praised.

"You too," I agreed, swiping my paw at his shoulder; the Growlithe jerked back at the last second and retaliated with a swipe to mine, knocking me off balance. Before I could react, he shoved me again, sending me to the ground. "Ow," I complained.

"You all right?" Alister asked, walking over to make sure I wasn't hurt. I head butted him in the face when he came close and he stumbled backwards, looking dazed. I hopped to my feet and tackled his chest, sending us both tumbling across the ground, me giggling hysterically. "Oh, that was cheap," Alister grumbled, but he was smiling.

"Who wins?" I asked.

"I do," he answered.

"What? How?"

"Like this," he answered and flipped backwards, throwing me off him and landing on top of my back, pinning me easily. I practically stopped breathing with laughter, to the point where Alister got off to make sure I could breathe. "You okay?"

"F-fine," I said, wiping tears from my eyes and rubbing against his side. His fur is just as soft and warm as I hoped it would be. He blinked, but it was too dark to see if he was blushing. "That was fun," I choked out.

"You're welcome," the Growlithe said, catching his breath. "Now what?"

"Tag!" I said, slapping his leg and taking off. He let out a startled yelp, giving me time to get ahead.

* * *

The game went on until we both collapsed at the top of the hill, which we had eventually scaled during the course of the game. Alister was panting rather heavily, his tongue hanging out a little. "Good...game..." he panted. I giggled, panting similarly. I had so much energy from sitting around all day; it felt so good to be tired out.

"Same...to you..." I agreed, yawning. The Growlithe chuckled.

"Call it a night?"

"Def...definitely," I panted, but groaned. "I'm...too tired to go down the hill. I might trip..."

"Ouch," Alister agreed. The rocks near the bottom of the hill would definitely hurt and I was too exhausted to take the longer route.

"I'll just...catch...my breath," I panted, curling my tail around myself and stretching. Alister hesitated.

"I don't want to leave you here alone...there are Houndour in the area..." he said hesitantly.

"I'll...be fine," I assured him. To my surprise, the Growlithe shook his head.

"Not a chance. I'm not...leaving...you here...alone," he said, coughing once. I giggled and yawned again, resting my head on my paws.

"I'll just be a minute," I muttered, my eyes too heavy to keep open. It'd only be a minute and...I'd be able to go down...the hill and uh...go back to...my clan. The grass was really quite comfortable and it was late and...maybe resting my eyes a little would be a good...


	3. Full Moon

Warm sunlight shone down upon me, gently rousing me from my sleep. Upon opening my eyes, it took a few seconds for me to figure out where I was. The sudden realization sent a jolt through me; I was on my feet in a flash. My sudden movement awoke the Growlithe that was sleeping near me. He cursed quietly, the same realization hitting him. I had fallen asleep on the hill and it was morning; there was almost no chance of me returning to the clan without someone having discovered my absence. I doubted Kira could cover up my disappearance that well if someone was looking for me. I have to get back.

"Got to go!" I said, on the verge of panicking. Alister looked similarly distressed. "Look, meet again in a few days!" I said, hurrying down the hill.

"How many?" the Growlithe panted.

"I don't know, three!" I gasped, reaching the bottom of the hill.

"Counting today?"

"Sure, whatever!" I shouted over my shoulder, racing in the direction of the clan grounds. I was going to be in so much trouble if I got caught. We were talking some pretty severe penalties, and that's not even counting the fact that I had been associating with a Growlithe.

My heart pounded as I dashed through the trees and bushes on the trail back to the clan. I couldn't risk taking the path itself and getting spotted by one of the patrollers. I hope they haven't noticed me gone yet. Please don't have anyone notice me gone yet... Oh, why did I get into this mess? I can see the clan grounds ahead...I just have to get there before anyone notices...

Only a hundred feet now...my lungs were burning. I really need to exercise more so sprinting won't hurt so much...only fifty feet now...getting closer. Dang, this hurts my side so much, but I can't stop now. Almost there...almost...

Movement ahead! I ducked to the side, taking refuge in the nearest bushes, praying that whoever was coming wouldn't have noticed the rustling or at least wouldn't investigate. I held a paw in front of my mouth, muffling the sounds of my panting breath the best I could. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest harder than it ever had before. I could hear the slow patter of a quadruped coming nearer. My ears twitched. The steps were too heavy to be an Eevee...it was probably a leader or patroller, and it wasn't a secret that I had been getting in trouble a lot lately. Being caught outside clan grounds, even just a little bit, was going to really stack against me.

The steps were getting nearer. I could hear the breathing of the owner. I froze, not moving a muscle, my sides aching from my sprint, my chest burning and my breath coming out in desperate pants, sounding very loud despite my efforts to silence them. The other Pokémon was almost level with my hiding place, still moving at that calm pace. That didn't mean I was safe. Sometimes patrollers let you think he or she didn't know where you were, and then suddenly caught you when you let your guard down.

From the gaps in the bush, I could see the yellow color of the passing Pokémon's fur, confirming it was a Jolteon. Although I couldn't be sure, it looked like the same patroller who had gone ballistic when Kira and I convinced the two Eevee males to kiss. We don't have a lot of evolved Eevee in the clan, except for the leaders or patrollers. Evolutions were rare in the clan until many Eevee were several years older. Evolutionary stones were in short supply and the odds of evolving into an Espeon or Umbreon were slim, even during or after courting season.

The Jolteon passed my hiding spot, but abruptly paused and looked around, peering into the bushes nearby. My heart stopped beating as his gaze passed over my location, but his attention didn't linger. After what felt like an eternity, the electric type faced forward and continued on his way. I didn't move or breathe until I was sure he wasn't coming back to ambush me, then I let my breath out in a whoosh. Dang, that was too close. My lungs burned and I gulped in air eagerly. Holding my breath after my sprint wasn't exactly the most comfortable action I could have taken, but it was better than getting caught.

I slid from my hiding spot and staggered ahead, to the sanctuary of the clan grounds. So long as I was in the clan territory, I could make something up as to where I was. I could say I was at my quiet spot. Yeah, that was a good idea. Kira would see through it, but almost everyone else would believe it. Besides, Kira already knew what I had been doing, so of course she wouldn't be fooled.

Once within the clan boundaries, I relaxed a little. I wasn't out of trouble yet, but I was less in danger of severe trouble than I was a minute ago. I just needed to avoid the clan leaders while so close to the clan boundary. Shouldn't be too hard; they sort of stood out. Due to the rarity of evolved Eevee at any one time, almost every evolved clan member was given a higher status and responsibility, although there were exceptions. Some became understudies to the leaders, others became patrollers, but it really depended, I guess, on the personality and trustworthiness of the evolved Eevee.

I passed a pair of Eevee, both of them more focused on one another than me, so I was starting to feel safer with my location. I gave the Eevee a curious glance, but kept walking. They seemed to be acting rather sweet to one another, reminding me of how much April gets on my nerves. What they had seemed to be more sincere than the practice flirting most males were using. I smiled. How lucky for them, to have sincere love. My stomach did a little somersault at the thought, but just as quickly squirmed in a way that made me feel ill.

That was the other side of the tug-of-war game. Alister might just want to be a friend and not return my feelings. I didn't even know how to understand what I thought I felt. I began to walk away, frowning to myself. As much as I hated the anti-specie rules the clan had, I was still bound to obey them. If I had fallen in love with Alister somehow, the penalty was beyond a lecture or a bite on the ear. Maybe I would be better off if I didn't push the rules so much. My insides squirmed at the thought. If I got kicked out of the clan, I'd lose my friends, my home...everything I had. Would I be better off just staying friends with Alister? I don't know. Would it really be hypocritical of me to allow a member of the clan to court me? I knew quite a few seemed interested in me, but I didn't know how sincere it was.

I sighed. Was this designed to be a lose/lose situation by default? I was in love with the Growlithe, not a member of the clan. If I abandoned my feelings for Alister, I could end up miserable and knowing forever that it was my own fault. If I didn't, then he might not feel the same way and I'd be miserable, wishing I had not taken the risk. And if he did...then I risked being exiled or worse. There was no clear way to win this. Life is so unfair. Courting season was almost here and as Kira had said, me being single was going to draw suspicion, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable giving someone the illusion of a chance when my heart was so focused on someone else.

* * *

I spoke to Kira about the situation later that afternoon. She was relieved that I had evaded trouble and she knew better than to badger me about the close call. As I finished recounting the previous evening, a male Eevee approached us, but I quickly told him to beat it, causing him to walk away in disappointment.

Kira giggled. "He was cute."

I shrugged, "I guess. But what am I going to do?"

Kira seemed puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Kira, you know I'm interested in someone else," I whined. The other Eevee nodded slowly, her tail flicking.

"So you want my advice on that?" she asked, grinning. "How sweet."

"I just want to know what you think," I replied. Kira tapped her chin with the tip of her tail. "What am I supposed to do if a male tries to court me? You said it would look suspicious..."

"Here's an idea," Kira said slowly. I sat up, watching her. Kira blushed. "Don't look at me like that," she complained. I rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't reject them so hastily. That looks suspicious. You're telling all the males to beat it and yet you don't seem to have any interests. It looks weird," she explained. "No, you don't have to embrace them with open arms," she said hastily when I opened my mouth to argue. "But...don't be so...closed?"

I frowned, my white furred tail swishing. She had a point; my current strategy would look weird. "I don't know how I feel about that. It's sort of unfair if I don't feel that way," I complained.

"Well, how do you feel about the other...guy?" she asked, looking around to make sure no one was around to hear. Even though we were alone, it's still a relief that she's paying attention to the little details, like the possibility of other Eevee eavesdropping. I smiled at her, showing her I appreciated her caution. She smiled in return, but watched me expectantly.

"Well, yeah I'm interested in him, but I don't know how he feels," I whined.

"What do you like about him?" Kira pressed. I hesitated. How could I tell my best friend how I felt if I barely knew the answer to that myself? There was so much about Alister that I liked, and my stomach kept churning with anticipation whenever I was going to see him. Already I was annoyed that I had pushed our next meeting night to three days, panicky morning or not.

I mulled the question over, closing my eyes and focusing on how I felt around Alister compared to everyone else. "Well...he's kind of cute, you know?" I said, keeping my eyes closed.

"Yeah..." Kira didn't sound very convinced, but I pressed on, regardless. She doesn't have to feel the same way. In fact, better that she didn't. No competition from my best friend, thank you very much.

"And he's...sort of sweet, really nice...love his fur," I added, a soft purr leaving my throat at the memory of his soft, warm fur. Kira giggled, but I kept my eyes closed. "Just...the way he talks, his eyes are nice and...a lot of things," I finished, feeling my face grow warm as I opened my eyes. I wasn't normally one to gush about someone attractive.

"Wow, he sounds great," Kira said, smiling, her eyes dreamy. I resisted the urge to growl. She better keep her paws to herself.

I nodded curtly, "I think so, too, but I don't know what to do and you know why."

Kira sobered and scratched her cheek thoughtfully. "Well, Darkness...I don't really know what to say about that. On one paw...how can I tell you to ignore your heart? On the other paw...you'll get in huge trouble." My companion exhaled heavily, her eyes wide and anxious. "Darkness, you'll get kicked out of the clan," she whispered.

I nodded seriously, "I know I would."

"How can you do that?" Kira pressed. "You know the clan is all any of us have. Being kicked out is the worst punishment they have. It's like taking away our families, friends, putting us in danger, and searing the curse of dishonor upon the exile forever."

"I know that, Kira. Believe me, I do."

"Then why would you take the risk?" Kira whined. I sighed, my tail swishing. I know she's trying to be reasonable and understand my problem, but it was still so hard for me. I don't know why I feel the way I do. "And the courting season starts tomorrow!"

"What?" I stared at the other Eevee. I hadn't really been keeping track of the days counting to the courting season, and if it was tomorrow, and I trusted that Kira knew what she was talking about.

Kira nodded. "Well, give or take a few days, of course," she reminded me with a giggle. That was true. Not everyone started the courting season simultaneously. That would be so weird if they did. One day, normal, and then bam, courting season next day. From what I noticed last year, most serious courting attempts started a few days before the season 'started' and more became involved with courting over time. Obviously, there was no set date when the season began, just a general time, decided by the instincts of the specie.

"Do you think that'll be a problem?" I asked my friend.

"Nope, no problem at all. How could courting season possibly be a problem when you want to court a non-Eevee?" Kira replied sarcastically. I giggled and nuzzled her neck. Kira blinked, but then giggled and nuzzled me in return.

"No fair!" a familiar male voice complained. Kira blinked and looked over at the male Eevee, promptly blushing, her tail swishing. I tilted my head, vaguely recognizing him as one of the two males that had tried to flirt with us the day I met Alister. I hid a grin with my paw. That explained Kira's blush.

"What's not fair?" Kira asked, smiling. The male seemed to pout for a moment.

"How come you two can do that without getting dragged away by the ear?" he complained, pointing towards one of the passing patrollers. My heart skipped a beat before I realized that the Umbreon was out of earshot, making it unlikely he or she had overheard Kira mention me courting a non-Eevee.

"We're friends," I pointed out. The male scowled.

"That makes no sense!"

"Sure it does," I argued.

"No, it doesn't!" the male insisted. I growled, but Kira intervened.

"You can sit by me, if you still want to. A deal's a deal," she said sweetly. I stared at her, but the male seemed pleased by the suggestion and complied. Kira giggled and licked the male Eevee's cheek.

"Okay...I'm going to leave you two alone, then," I muttered, walking away. She's so weird sometimes. I looked over my shoulder before passing out of sight and saw that they were talking casually. I guess I'd have to figure out what to do on my own, but that was fine. Kira didn't have to solve my life's problems when she had her own life to take care of.

* * *

Over the next two days, I did my best to follow the strategy Kira had suggested, but I found most approaches to be irritating because hopeful males only seemed to show up when I wanted to be left alone to my thoughts. It was like I carried some sort of signal telling everyone to bother me. How was I supposed to work out my emotions and thoughts when they kept getting interrupted?

To make matters worse, my mind refused to keep focus on anything that wasn't Alister for longer than ten minutes. Whenever my thoughts drifted to the Growlithe, my stomach began experiencing fluttering sensations, often accompanied by pangs of frustration that the fire canine wasn't near me.

I left the clan grounds earlier than normal the following night, my heart pounding in my chest, my body shaking with excitement. I pray that I'm not just getting my hopes up; if he didn't show, I don't think I'd be able to take the crushing disappointment. No, I wouldn't leave until dawn if that's what it took to make sure he didn't come late and miss me. Nothing mattered more than to see the Growlithe's smile. I longed for nothing more than to stare into his bright brown eyes, and cuddle against his wonderfully soft, warm fur...

I'm such a hopeless mess. Why can't I shake these thoughts? Why do I want to? They're wonderful thoughts and fantasies. I should be able to cling to the fragment of hope that maybe, just maybe, I can experience the same thing all the clan Eevee want, just with a Pokémon that wasn't an Eevee. Was that really wrong?

I shook myself hastily. I need to calm down. Alister wasn't even here yet and I was already twisting my emotions into knots. I took a deep breath and began grooming my white fur, tidying up the areas that had become displaced during my walk here. Every so often, I'd look around for signs of the approaching Growlithe, but since I was still earlier than normal, I managed to keep from dissolving into a fit of anxiety.

My ears twitched at the sound of approaching paws, my tail eagerly flicking from the reach of my paws as I vainly tried to finish grooming the excitable appendage. I gave up when the silhouette of a Growlithe came into view, in part because my tail was swishing so quickly. Real subtle, Tail.

"Good evening, Darkness," Alister said, walking over to me. "Did you get back all right?"

"Yeah, I was fine," I said, smiling. He's so sweet, thinking of me like that. Alister glanced at my tail's excited swishing, but pointedly averted his gaze. "Good to see you again," I said.

"Likewise," Alister replied. "You're looking very nice tonight," he told me. There wasn't a blatant flirting tone to his words, which made me hesitate. Was that flirting or only a compliment? Ugh, why would he be flirting? It was probably just a compliment. But what if it wasn't?

I shook myself from my mental dilemma, giggling. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the Growlithe answered.

"Hey Alister?" I said tentatively. The fire canine smiled and looked at me inquisitively. "I was thinking...we should meet more often."

Alister froze in place. "M-more often?" he repeated, recovering from a momentary stammer. His soft brown eyes studied me, his expression wary. "Why?"

"Because I want to," I said.

"Why?"

"You really should smile or smirk or something when you ask that; it makes it more obvious you're kidding," I grumbled. Alister blinked.

"I'm confused," he said finally.

"I want to meet more often, what's so confusing?" I demanded. "If there's a problem with the idea, say so!"

"Whoa, calm down," Alister said quickly. "It's just that it's so sudden, especially since our last appointment ended in a panicky scramble to get back home."

"That was because we slept here," I argued, rolling my eyes. "Not that I didn't want to keep meeting you."

"I know that," the orange furred canine insisted. He took a deep breath. "I don't know about meeting more often. It's tricky enough with our respective situations. Especially yours."

I bristled, "I'll worry about my situation, thank you."

Alister frowned. "Are you feeling all right today? You're rather short-tempered, no offense."

"I'll be fine," I grumbled. "Better if you stop acting like I'm inconveniencing you."

This remark drew a flinch from the fire canine, but he recovered smoothly. "I'm sorry," he announced. I nodded, grooming my bristled fur awkwardly. Alister stretched and sat down beside me, watching the sun slink down over the horizon, the pink-orange glow of the sky darkening to blue. "Lovely sunset, don't you think?" he asked, his tail wagging.

"It is nice," I agreed, repressing a shiver. Maybe it was the closeness of the Growlithe, or maybe I just hadn't noticed the chilling air before, but I felt cold. Alister noticed my shiver despite my attempts to hide it.

"Cold?"

"A little," I mumbled. Alister paused a moment, then exhaled gently, his warm breathing sending a different chill down my spine as my fur was bathed in warmth. I purred, rubbing against his fur gratefully. The Growlithe frowned for a moment, puzzling me. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," I said defensively. "I like the warmth."

"Glad to hear it," he said awkwardly.

I tilted my head at him. "Are YOU okay? Why are you so nervous, Alister?"

"Everyone in my pack was warned that your clan's heat season is starting," he answered, watching me warily. I blinked, my cheeks and neck becoming uncomfortably warm. "I don't think it would be wise for us to meet frequently."

I growled at this comment, "That's stupid."

"Is it?" Alister asked skeptically. "The pack doesn't want to go too close to your clan's boundaries and your clan would throw a fit if they saw me anywhere near you or the clan. I don't want there to be trouble."

"We can meet somewhere further from the clan, then. It's not a big deal!" I insisted angrily.

"Darkness, why are you pushing so hard for this?" the Growlithe asked quietly.

"Because you're a sweet guy that I don't want to lose contact with because my clan's filled with purist jerks!" I snapped.

"Darkness, I'm serious. I don't think this would be a good idea. We're pushing it as it is!" Alister insisted, his orange fur bristling in his own agitation.

I glared at him. "Who are you protecting, me or yourself?"

Alister's answer was prompt, "You. You're the one who'd face the wrath of your clan."

"Then you're not risking your own neck and tail, so let me make my own decisions."

"What with what's going on in your clan, us being in close contact would be...awkward at best," Alister said tentatively. I know he was referring to the courting season having an effect on me. Too late for that, my heart yearned for him long before this.

"It'll be fine," I insisted irritably. Alister hesitated.

"Look," he began, rubbing his forehead. "It's not that I don't want to hang out with you, Darkness, because I do. You're a nice Eevee, but some things aren't worth the risks involved."

"But this IS! Don't you get it?!" I practically shouted. Alister winced.

"Fine, fine...just...just calm down, okay? Look, I hate to do this to you, but I can't stay anymore tonight. I promise, I'll meet you again, I just don't know when."

"You don't know when?" I repeated, giving him a fierce glare. He's not planning on coming back for a long time, I bet. Alister realized the danger and quickly went on to clarify.

"It'll be within a week, I promise you."

"A WEEK?!" I shrieked. Again, the Growlithe winced.

"Easy...easy..." he whispered, rubbing my ears in an attempt to calm me. To our mutual surprise, it actually _worked._

"Not a week...that's too long!" I whined. Okay, so the soothing gesture didn't work very well. Alister sighed.

"I'm sorry; I can't do much to speed it up, Darkness."

"But Alister..."

"Really, I can't meet you sooner than that. That's why I came so early today. I can't stay long and I can't come for about a week."

"How will I know when you can meet me?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate. Alister hesitated, mulling that over for at least a minute.

"You can see the hill from the clan, right?" he asked finally. I nodded. "I'll light a fire there the night before we can meet. If you can, you can also come that night, but I won't expect you to." I sighed, but nodded. Alister licked his paw and groomed my white fur back into place. "It'll be okay, Darkness. We'll keep in touch, if that's what you want so much."

"It is," I affirmed.

"You have nice fur," the Growlithe noted, and stepped back a pace. I blushed, staring at the ground shyly. "Sorry, I have to go. See you soon," he promised. He walked with me down to the base of the hill and watched me go back towards the clan grounds. When I looked back, he was still there, watching until we were longer in view of one another. A pleasant flutter tickled my stomach and I smiled weakly. He's so sweet and sincere...I love him more than ever.

* * *

I watched the hill from afar every night before going to sleep. Each day passed with a disappointing ache in the pit of my stomach when I saw no fire lit. Kira was aware of my pain and did her best to comfort me, on one night cancelling a 'date' with her suitor in order to fit me into her schedule. My protests to this action were ignored, a gesture I came to appreciate, because that night we played a nightly game of tag with a few of the other Eevee in the clan. A lot of the conversations that night had to do with the males the females wished would court them, or updates on present suitors. I wish they wouldn't; it made the hollow feeling in my gut even worse.

Petal spent half the night boasting about how close she and her suitor had grown in the past week, and giggled about how she and her suitor had caught two other couples sneaking back into the clan grounds just before dawn. Kira asked why Petal and her suitor were monitoring the clan boundaries at dawn, a question Petal conveniently dodged.

Despite the relief from my loneliness, I found myself getting more anxious as time went on. It had definitely been over a week since I last saw Alister. I was so tempted to let one of the male Eevee court me, but my stomach felt sick whenever I was about to accept, forcing me to decline. I spent an increasing amount of time by myself, feeling restless but simultaneously listless. Kira was starting to worry about my health, but I dismissed her concerns as me adjusting to the seasonal changes, which wasn't far from the truth.

Another night passed without so much as a flicker of light from the hilltop and I was beginning to lose hope. Maybe I had missed it on a different night and by not showing up, Alister maybe thought I wasn't coming. Maybe we were having a huge misunderstanding, where both of thought the other didn't want to see one another or maybe Alister never planned on coming back and the whole 'fire on the hill' thing was just his way to trick me so he could disappear!

"Are you hyperventilating?" Kira asked, snapping me from my frantic thoughts. She was lying curled up beside me, but stood and rubbed against me soothingly. "Calm down, Darkness," she murmured. I whined a little, but my breathing slowly returned to a normal pace. "What's going on with you?" she asked.

"I still haven't heard or seen anything from Alister. He said about a week and it's been more than that!" I complained. Kira blinked, rubbing my back.

"Maybe you should get some sleep, Darkness," she said worriedly. "You've been staying up later..."

"But then I might miss his signal!" I protested, looking up at the hill's silhouette. Kira followed my gaze.

"What's the signal?"

"He said he'd light a fire."

"Go to sleep, Darkness," Kira said firmly. "I'll watch for a few hours."

"You mean that?" I asked, surprised. Kira giggled.

"Sure. Go to sleep now," she ordered with a teasing growl. I sighed. Kira frowned at my reluctance and yawned. My eyelids slowly grew heavy until I could no longer stay alert, dropping off into sleep.

* * *

"Darkness, wake up!" Kira's whine forced me from my contented sleep and I glared at her sleepily. "There's a fire by the hill."

"Really?" I asked, sitting up hopefully. Kira nodded, pointing a paw towards the hill, where sure enough, there was the flickering of a fire from the summit. "Thanks," I said, stumbling in the direction of the clan boundaries.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kira hissed quickly.

"Uh...what do you think?" I retorted.

"You can't just go out of the clan alone in the middle of the night!" Kira said. I glared at her.

"I've been doing it, what's the problem now?"

"Not alone, you can't! Remember what Petal was saying? She's like keeping track of this!"

"Which is really weird, when you think about it," I agreed.

"Point is, you can't be alone if you want to avoid the kind of suspicion you're avoiding!" Kira whispered urgently.

"Fine, you go with me."

"Oh, that'll look so much better," Kira muttered sarcastically. "I mean, we could say our respective suitors went earlier on, but if that got back to Vegi, then..." she trailed off, glaring at me when I burst out laughing. "What?"

"V-vegi?" I snickered. "That's his name?"

"No," Kira said defensively. "It's Cucumber."

"Please...tell me...you're joking," I wheezed, holding my sides. Kira giggled.

"Yeah, I am."

"Which name? Vegi or Cucumber?" I asked, my sides aching as I struggled not to laugh again. Kira rolled her eyes, but didn't answer. We started walking, thankfully no one coming near us.

Several minutes later, I signaled to Kira that I was leaving the area and changed paths to go up the hill that Alister and I had been meeting at for the past several times. At the summit, I found the Growlithe dozing next to a dwindling fire, which I noted was carefully controlled by digging a trench around the kindling. I poked his ribs, prompting him to awaken with a disgruntled growl. "Hi!" I said, grinning in the light of the fire. Alister blinked and settled down.

"Oh...it's you. Uh...sorry it took so long..." he muttered. His awkward expression was so adorable I just wanted to hug him tightly and cuddle against his blissfully warm fur. Something about my expression must have tipped him off because he stared at me. "You okay?"

"Just fine," I said, stepping closer. The night was cool and the dying flame made the surrounding air temperature seem even cooler by comparison. Alister nodded, hesitantly placing his tail around me to pass his warmth.

"You're looking nice tonight," he remarked. I giggled, my face growing hot. He's so sweet to me and I was so happy to see him again, after such a long absence. Sure, to most people, a week doesn't seem like a very long time to be separated, but for me, the fact I wasn't allowed to see him most of the time made the parting almost unbearable.

"Thanks, so do you," I said, smiling. The Growlithe blushed, but smiled kindly nevertheless. "You know, my birthday's coming up," I told him.

"It is? When?" Alister asked, his tail wagging and tickling me a bit, alerting me to the fact he was genuinely curious.

"Uh...a little over a week," I said, counting the days quickly.

Alister nodded, "We'll definitely meet on that day."

"How sweet," I said, giggling. It really was.

"Just make sure to let me know when it's closer, so I can remember to get away from the rest of the pack then," he said. I shrugged.

"Easy enough. It's a full moon that night," I said. Alister mulled that over and chuckled.

"That makes it easy to remember, I guess."

This night was rather unique, as far as meetings with Alister went. Neither of us were really feeling energetic or playful, so we spent most of the time reclining at the top of the hill, watching the sky and talking. Neither of us had really had the time to tell each other about our lives beyond immediate events and how our collective groups acted at times. There was no real aim to our conversations beyond talking, but that suited me just fine. It was relaxing and almost made the obscenely long wait between our last meetings worth it. Just the atmosphere itself was so...perfect. There was a strange, but lovely, feeling in the air around us, filling me with a sense of hope. Maybe my fears were baseless after all and the Growlithe could be reliable and care enough for me to return my feelings. When I left that night, it was with the promise that Alister would take care to celebrate my birthday when it came up, and that we would meet again in a few days.

Meanwhile, I began receiving more attention back at the clan, to Kira's amusement and my frustration. Apparently, word had traveled that I was almost a prize, since I was among the few single females still around. For the first time, my fur color was an annoyance because I didn't blend in with other Eevee. I stood out and not just a little. White fur was VERY easy to spot in a crowd and practically every single male were competing for a chance. Thankfully, they didn't swarm me, but I could hardly be by myself for longer than an hour or so without changing location due to the presence of some hopeful males and their audience. Seriously, there was a small audience of Eevee, most likely with some sort of betting pool, watching courting attempts. Don't they have anything else to do?

"Doesn't it drive you crazy to be single?" one irritated male asked when I told him to go away. I heard a few mutters of how strange I was for being, as they put it, 'disturbingly selective'.

But I didn't care what others said about how odd I was for rejecting other Eevee. My heart wasn't leaning towards them, but towards someone else, someone that I wouldn't reveal the identity of no matter how much they pestered. I say that because several of the female Eevee were starting to be curious whether I was seeing someone already, a question I refused to give a straight answer to. As if I didn't have enough of the clan bugging me already. Kira had even been approached by curious Eevee that knew how close she was to me, but she fortunately refused to answer any of their questions, either.

I was awakened abruptly one morning by an over-excited Kira. "What the hell?!" I demanded.

"Happy birthday," Kira giggled, unfazed by my initially hostile reaction. I grinned, the anger fading away quickly. How could I have almost forgotten? Today was my fourth birthday. This meant, assuming Alister hadn't forgotten, that I was going to see Alister tonight. "So..." Kira said, a teasing glint in her eye. "Guess how many Eevee want to eat lunch with you?"

"All of them," I sighed. Kira had warned me beforehand that, according to Vegi, every single male was going to try to court me during my birthday and that he recommended picking one to keep the others off my tail (literally). Kira had agreed with this idea, which was SO not shocking. While I was thrilled she was falling for her suitor, her advice was paralleling his a little too often for my liking, because she also liked the suggestion of picking his buddy so that I was guaranteed to be able to drop the act at a moment's notice without pissing people off. I think she just wants to try to tempt them into kissing each other again, which, come to think of it, wasn't the worst idea.

Night came mercifully quickly and I found the perfect excuse to sneak off, in the form of Kira convincing her suitor and my pseudo-suitor into kissing. I think it'll be a riot if the Umbreon patroller comes by, just to punish them for thinking night was a perfect cover, especially with a 'romantic' full moon out. At least she wouldn't be complaining about covering for my disappearance. I chuckled as I climbed the hill, where Alister was already waiting, his brown eyes shining in the pale moonlight.

"Happy birthday," Alister said shyly. "You're looking beautiful tonight."

"Thanks," I giggled, walking over to him. I took note that his fur was especially well groomed and clean, with an interesting scent to it. The scent tickled my nose, teasing my senses. "How are you?"

"I'm excellent, thank you," Alister answered. "How old are you today?"

"Four."

"Not bad," he said. An awkward silence fell between and we both stared up at the luminous orb immersed in the black blanket of sky. "Lovely night."

"It is," I agreed.

"The moonlight really brings out the shine in your eyes," Alister noted, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. I turned towards him and giggled, silently noting the same was true for him. His eyes were very soft and bright tonight...so sweet and gentle...his fur so soft and warm, his touch so sweet and caring...

I found myself staring into his eyes, the sweet shine in them drawing me deeper and closer to him until our muzzles touched. It was a gentle touch, and a thrill like an electric shock shot through me, but I didn't pull back, preferring to savor the kiss. Our muzzles broke apart, as if by some invisible signal and we developed identical blushes.

"I...really like you, Darkness," the Growlithe said, his blush intensifying. "That sounded better in my head."

"Aww," I purred, licking his cheek. "I think I love you."

"I know," Alister said seriously. I stared at him until he could no longer keep a straight face and we both giggled quietly. When we stopped, our eyes met again. This time, I leaned over and touched my mouth to his own. The Growlithe blushed again, but waited until I pulled back before speaking again. "Well, I did."

I giggled and nudged him with my nose. Alister chuckled and rubbed my ears. I purred and relaxed, my tail swishing. Alister kissed my cheek and a warm feeling spread from my chest to every inch of my body. My stomach once again experienced a fluttering sensation, followed by a strange feeling I had never felt before. Alister breathed in sharply, but when I opened my eyes to try to see what had alarmed him, a blinding white light forced my eyes shut again. Then the feeling and light disappeared and I was able to open my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was Alister seemed smaller than normal. Now we were about the same size, rather than him being a little taller. He was staring at me with his mouth open, his eyes wide with surprise. Alarmed, I looked myself over and had to at first choke back a horrified gasp. My white fur was suddenly black and my tail no longer swished the way it used to, but now made more of a wagging motion. On closer inspection, there were small bands around my ankles and tail, and these bands glowed with a strange, dark blue light.

I had evolved.

Alister slowly regained his composure, but it was clear he was still surprised. "C-congratulations," he managed weakly. I smiled, the rings pulsing gently. They may have been my own rings, but I found the blue coloration to be incredibly alluring. There was just something about them that seemed special. There was nothing wrong with other Umbreon's yellow rings, but mine just seemed so different. Was it because I had been born with white fur? Alister blushed, looking me over politely. "Beautiful," he said.

I giggled and nuzzled my nose against his neck, the compliment hitting home. He thought I was beautiful...he actually did like me...a sense of euphoria was starting to spread through my mind. I've never felt so happy, so playful, so excited and energetic. My new body was full of energy and I was being bombarded with positive feelings. The scent of the striped canine was stronger than ever, but every bit as desirable as before. Maybe even more so. After a hesitant pause, Alister nuzzled back, and I savored the warmth of his fur, snuggling closer to him than before.

Without thinking, I lightly bit his neck and he flinched, giving me a startled look. I fidgeted. Was that a bad thing to do? Something within me told me that I was supposed to do that to an attractive male. But why would I think that? Alister gave me an inquisitive look, and as if that look was a signal, I bit his neck again, rubbing against him with my nose afterwards. The Growlithe looked confused, but yet not upset. My rings glowed yet again, pulsing rhythmically. Alister slowly smiled and kissed my cheek.

I was far too energetic still, so I tagged Alister's shoulder. "Tag," I giggled, then backed up, my tail wagging playfully. The Growlithe blinked, but his own tail wagged and he watched me, darting forward to tag me. When he succeeded, he backed away just as quickly, making it harder for me to tag him. I grinned and chased after him, stumbling a little when I discovered the balance of my new body was a little different from what I was used to, but I could still give chase.

* * *

Kira was not remotely amused when I awoke her early the next morning, with both male Eevee sleeping cuddled on either side of her. Naturally, she freaked out upon seeing an unfamiliar female Umbreon staring at her when she opened her eyes first thing in the morning. Even when I told her who I was, she wasn't convinced until I started telling the story of when she decided to sneak down to the lake and-

"Okay, you're Darkness!" she interrupted in a panic. It didn't take me long to fill her in on the previous night, although most details had to be delayed until we had moved away from her cuddling buddies (I will never stop teasing her). "Aww, that's so cute!" Kira squealed when I told her of how I had evolved. "But that could be a problem," she said, sobering a little.

"How so?"

"You evolved overnight. They're going to wonder how it happened, or who you grew to trust to do it," Kira explained.

I shrugged. "Anyone who's been suspecting that I'm in love with someone secret won't be THAT shocked that I evolved."

"But the secret part is because your mate's a non-Eevee," Kira whispered. I shrugged again.

"I'll deal with it when it comes to that. But...there is a bright side."

"What?"

I grinned, "Being an Umbreon makes it a LOT easier to sneak out."


	4. New Moon

I received more stares than usual that morning as I walked down to the bathing stream. Some of the stares were nervous, others curious, and a pawful of males seemed unable to look away. I ignored them all. I don't think anyone was sure who I was, since white fur as an Eevee and blue Umbreon rings didn't really seem to be connected. The ring color wasn't even that obvious unless someone was looking carefully or if the rings were glowing.

When I reached the stream, I was relieved to see that almost no one was there this morning. I wandered over to the edge of the water and studied my reflection for a few minutes. As much as I had liked the look of me as an Eevee, I absolutely adored my present look. My eyes had retained the softness they had as an Eevee, even if the eyes were red in color. It wasn't quite the terrifying red shade of the Umbreon patroller in the clan, but instead shone with a subtle allure. I giggled to myself, shaking my head. Was I vain for admiring myself? Mhm...did it matter? I had evolved last night, I should be given the chance to look myself over and admire the finer features of my new form. Alister had called me beautiful, but to build my confidence, I should be able to agree with him.

Bathing took me a little longer than normal, due to being larger than an Eevee, but grooming was much easier. My Umbreon fur is a bit shorter than an Eevee's, and lacks the collar of fluffy fur around my neck. However, I don't like that an Umbreon secretes some sort of thin layer of sweat. I'm going to blame that on courting season, because that's what the scent of it reminded me of. Admittedly, it wasn't greasy or sticky like regular sweat, and it added a bit of a shine to my fur, but the scent was bugging me. Umbreon senses are way stronger than I was used to. I could hear someone approaching before I could even see them, and smell them too. Hmm...I'd say it was definitely male and most likely a Flareon.

"Ahem." Sure enough, there was the sound of a throat being cleared. I looked up briefly and saw the Flareon clan leader. I only gave a nod of acknowledgement and continued grooming. I could feel his eyes on me, but chose to ignore him. He was probably just confused by my lack of attention, but he wouldn't start talking. Finally, I growled and looked up again.

"Don't stare at me while I'm grooming!" I snapped. His eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?"

"Darkness," I growled. The Flareon frowned for a moment.

"You evolved?"

"Last night."

"I see. Into an Umbreon, hmm..." he walked around me, looking me over critically on all sides. If I didn't know he was already mated to the Espeon clan leader, I'd have bitten him for being in my personal space and eyeing me like that. As it was, I chose to only glare at him. I'd never get away with that look if I was still an Eevee, but the Flareon ignored it.

"Take two paces back!" I snapped finally, when the fire Eon showed no sign of giving me more personal space. To my surprise, he complied without argument, and even apologized. What the hell was going on?

"Please come find me when you are finished here," he said calmly, turning and walking away. I stared at his back, but shrugged. Eevee that recently evolved were often called to meet with the clan leaders and given some additional responsibility or some form of social promotion. That's probably what he wanted me for. I sighed and stretched, my blue rings glowing gently as I did so. I looked at the glowing bands for a moment. Why had they glowed now, rather than earlier this morning? Was it because I had stretched? I tested this theory, but the rings didn't react to the motions this time. Eh, whatever. Maybe the glowing didn't mean anything.

* * *

It wasn't hard to find the Flareon again, because he was among the small assembly of other Eons that made up the higher ranked Pokémon in the clan. Not sure what an Eevee's doing with them, but whatever. Maybe some Eevee are given higher status, but no one really notices them compared to the evolved Eons. I don't care about the clan's political side, anyway.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, sighing softly. The Flareon nodded, clearing his throat to gain the attention of the other Eons and the Eevee.

"I'm sure we all remember Darkness," he said to them, gesturing a paw towards me. Several of the clan leaders blinked at me, the Espeon speaking first.

"Congratulations." Her sentiments were echoed by several of the others, until the Flareon coughed into his paw, silencing them.

"I suppose we also know how rare it is for many Eevee to become an Espeon or an Umbreon."

"What are you implying?" I interrupted, glaring at the fire type.

"Such an evolution does not come out of the blue," the Flareon answered.

"No pun intended, no doubt," the Umbreon patroller commented, studying my rings. There was a fair amount of appreciative laughter and chuckling at this. The Flareon scowled, calming when the Espeon shot him a look. She didn't speak, but the red gemstone on her forehead glowed subtly in the sunlight. He nodded to her and she smiled, stepping to the front of the group.

"What he means is that we're very happy for your evolution, but would like to know who has played a role in your change," the Espeon said, her tone soft and casual. "Most often it's a close friend, a sibling, or a mate that prompts this change." She looked down at herself for a moment, her gaze flicking towards the Flareon.

"Your behavior in recent weeks has not gone unnoticed," the Eevee said. I frowned at him. "You spend an inordinate amount of time alone, have refused nearly every suitor without much consideration, have shown general disregard for authority and rules, and have questioned our practices. Your evolution in these conditions is unusual at best and suspicious at worst."

I narrowed my eyes to slits, the Eevee flinching and falling silent. "And these are BAD things that make it impossible to evolve without being interrogated?"

"What they mean," a Vaporeon leader sighed. "Is that you have showed little inclination towards a mate during the courting season. You don't spend time with others and your demeanor is overall closed. How you underwent an evolution to Umbreon makes no sense against these observations. We are not attacking you for evolving, on the contrary we're happy for you, but we would like some insight into how it happened."

"I was an Eevee one minute, then the next minute, I wasn't," I growled. I don't know what has me this agitated; I knew this would come up and I had been expecting it, but their smug tones pissed me off. What did they know? They acted like they had been tailing me or keeping tabs on me for the last month. So what if I didn't accept the first male who looked at me? So what if I wasn't very sociable lately? I had things on my mind.

"What were you doing last night?" the Jolteon patroller inquired sharply. I flinched. Suddenly, all of them were watching me. I fidgeted under their gaze. "Last night, you evolved, right? What were you doing at the time? Who were you with? Where were you?"

"None of your business," I muttered.

"You bathed this morning?

"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow at that question.

"Didn't you bathe last night?"

"Are you stalking me? It's none of your business what my grooming habits are!"

"Why would you need to bathe at both night and morning?" the Jolteon pressed. I snapped and bit at the electric type, only to get pounced upon by the Vaporeon and Umbreon, the two of them pinning me easily before I could do any damage. I flailed, trying to get up and actually bite the opposing Jolteon, whose fur had bristled with a growl.

"Hey, hey, hey!" the Espeon said, her fur bristling a little. "Everyone calm down!"

"You can't attack a clan leader or patroller!" the Flareon snapped at me.

"He's being a jerk!" I protested, snarling indignantly. My blue rings had lit up and were glowing brightly, but I didn't pay much attention to that.

"This doesn't count as calming down!" the Espeon said, raising her voice. "Now..." she said, calming as the other quieted down. "Let it go. The rest of you, be on your way. I'll talk to her. Now go."

The others muttered amongst themselves, but obediently departed to their own separate things. The Flareon leader hesitated. "She's a dark type..."

"I can handle it," the Espeon countered promptly. I grunted as the two Eons pinning me walked away, letting me climb to my feet. Jerks. The Flareon still hadn't left. The Espeon frowned. "I can handle you, I'll be fine," she told him. He grunted and walked away. Once they were all gone, the Espeon sat down beside me. "You okay?"

"Hmph," I grunted, grooming irritably.

"Sorry about the rude questioning," she said. I was silent. There's nothing really to say to that. "I respect that you want to keep your mate secret. Heck, my mate and I kept it a secret for a month, even after I evolved."

"What makes you think I have a mate?" I asked, in spite of myself. The Espeon giggled quietly.

"Let's just say it's pretty obvious. Have a good day," she said, turning and walking after the Flareon. I blinked, frowning to myself. How was it 'obvious'? Whatever, they wouldn't find out about Alister, so long as I was careful.

* * *

As I predicted, sneaking out of the clan as an Umbreon turned out to be exceedingly easy. The shadows hid my body almost flawlessly from sight and with some practice and patience, I could make my movements almost silent. My increased sense of smell tipped me off about so many things: Pokémon that had passed the area, how long ago they had been there, what direction they were going, and even a few clues about what they were doing. I didn't have to think about most of the signs; they just clicked in my mind. For example, the Umbreon patroller had passed this spot nearly a half-hour ago, moving in the opposite direction that I was. A Rattata had run past less than five minutes ago. Two Eevee...skip that one. And someone, most likely the Rattata, had dropped a Rawst berry not far from this spot.

When I arrived at the hill, I immediately caught a whiff of the Growlithe's scent, the smell causing my heart to pound more rapidly. Ever since I had evolved, Alister's scent had been fixed in my memory. At the peak of the hill, sure enough, I found Alister waiting. I greeted him by playfully tackling him before he was even aware I was there.

"Holy Entei, don't do that, Darkness," he complained once he realized who I was. I nibbled his neck affectionately, prompting a small blush from him. "How've you been?" he asked, relaxing.

"Good. But I was thinking we should meet other places, since I can get around easier," I said. Indeed, I had been thinking about this over the past two nights. My sleep schedule had been disrupted by my evolution and the excitement of my birthday. Sleeping while it was dark was increasingly difficult and my mind was far too alert or overexcited to try. In an attempt to soothe my active mind, I had started daydreaming about Alister, and was thrilled to discover that my stomach didn't feel sick or anxious whenever I thought about him, although my stomach still fluttered at the thought of him, especially the memory of his shiny brown eyes. Was it because I finally knew how he felt about me? I wasn't afraid of him rejecting me because he had already accepted me?

I snapped out of my daze when I realized Alister was talking. "...could meet there, if you want."

"Er...I'm sorry, where?"

"Further from your clan territory, but closer to that human city," Alister said, seeming unbothered by my lack of attentiveness. "It's closer to my pack's location, so I guess we can meet more often if you're going to push for that," he added with a chuckle. I grinned and pecked his cheek. The corners of his mouth twitched. "I'm going to take that as a yes."

"Good idea," I said. The warm fluttering sensation had returned to my stomach and was expanding within me, filling me with the same pleasant warmth I had experienced before I evolved. The Growlithe was so kind and caring when it came to me and I couldn't imagine anyone I'd rather be spending time with.

"Come, let's go take a walk," he suggested, getting up and stretching. My ears perked up. We almost never strayed from this hill, so I pounced on the opportunity to go somewhere else. I followed after Alister, noticing the path around us was lit with a luminous blue glow. After wondering about it for several seconds, I realized that my rings were glowing. I stared at the glowing bands for a few puzzled seconds. Did Umbreon rings glow randomly or did something set them off? They hadn't really been glowing until Alister suggested taking a walk. I could see perfectly in darkness, so it wasn't to light my path. Actually, if Umbreon were traditionally nocturnal predators, wouldn't the glowing be counterproductive?

"What are an Umbreon's rings for?" I blurted aloud. Alister choked on his laughter...somehow. I patted his back until he settled down.

"Thanks...I'm sorry, but...I've never actually heard anyone ask that before," he explained, wiping his eyes.

"I'm guessing you don't know?"

Alister shook his head, chuckling softly, "Not a clue. We're almost there."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, human cities are nice hangouts at night, when it's less crowded," the Growlithe explained. I blinked at him. A human city? I haven't had any close contact with humans, although I knew them on sight. The sight of a location with towering structures immediately felt intimidating, yet the presence of Alister kept me at ease. The closer we drew to the human city, the harder my heart pounded.

"There won't be a lot of humans around, right?" I asked, my voice barely above a whimper. Alister nuzzled me reassuringly.

"You'll be just fine. You're a tough girl, very strong and beautiful," he whispered. I flushed, pleased that my black fur and the darkness hid that fact. The sincerity in his voice was just too good to be anything but straight from a dream, yet somehow I knew it was real. The warmth of his fur, the gentleness in his shimmering eyes...dreamlike, but so real. Only with him have I ever felt so happy, so at ease. It was a feeling that I had lacked for most of my life, but never knew it wasn't there until I found it. How had I gotten so lucky to find such a handsome, caring Growlithe?

The streets of the city were barren, the light of the moon shining down upon the buildings, yet keeping plenty of the city covered in the comforting darkness that I craved in the unsettling circumstances. Alister led me through the streets as if he owned the alleys, his confidence allowing me to slowly relax. He occasionally changed direction and went a different way, as if he was searching for something and had abruptly remembered it was somewhere else. I asked him once or twice where he was going, but he only grinned and said he'd tell me later. If he doesn't tell me soon, I'm biting him.

Luckily for his chances of remaining bite-free, he finally located his destination. "Here we are!"

"And that is?" I asked. Nothing here seems different from the other dozen roads we had walked along. Alister blinked and pointed a paw towards the nearest building. I looked at the building, then at him, then back at the building. "I don't get it," I told him blankly.

"Come on in," Alister insisted and walked through the entranceway. I followed hesitantly, immediately getting the sense that this shouldn't be allowed. Alister grinned at my expression. "A buddy of mine watches the place at night. Don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered, my rings flashing. We seemed to be inside some sort of...junk filled building. "THIS is what you wanted me to see? I'm so biting you." I stepped towards him.

"You're what?" Alister asked, backing away nervously. I kept walking towards him and he laughed nervously, backing away quickly, knocking a few items of junk from their positions as he scrambled to create some distance between us. I could no longer keep a straight face as I pursued him, the chase quickly becoming a game that ended when I knocked the Growlithe into a shelf, sending the contents onto his head. "Ow," he muttered, looking rather dazed.

"Ooh, what's this?" I asked, studying a small object that had bounced off his head.

"I'm just having a concussion, don't worry," Alister muttered.

"Good to know," I said distantly, poking the object curiously. It was blue in color, a brighter shade than my rings, and rectangular in shape. I sniffed it curiously, and the most amazing scent bombarded my senses. It was fragrant and powerful, but not overpowering. I inhaled deeply, my attention to the object drawing Alister's curiosity.

"What is this?" he asked, picking it up and turning it over. "Some kind of soap," he muttered.

"Soap?"

"Yeah, soap. People use it to get clean when they bathe," Alister said with a shrug. "I usually use fire. Works better."

"For you, it would," I muttered. He's a fire type. "What would I use for the same effect? Umbreon sweat."

"I think the sweat's poisonous, so it kills gunk for you?" Alister suggested.

"But it feels greasy and smells weird," I complained, swiping the soap from him and smelling it. A purr left my throat as I inhaled the scent. "Not like this...I'd kill to smell like this," I murmured, growling for absolutely no reason.

Alister quickly backed up, hitting the shelf again. "Fine, keep the soap."

"I think I will," I said, scooping the bar into the small package it had fallen out of. I then picked up the package with my teeth. I growled playfully at the Growlithe, grinning when he flinched. Shaking my head, I quickly left the building, Alister a few paces behind me.

* * *

Over the course of next few days, I caught myself almost constantly dreaming about Alister, both at night and during the day. Unlike the days before he confessed his feelings for me, these dreams soothed me, rather than upset me. Kira often complained that my rings were keeping her awake at night and that if I didn't turn them off, she was going to sleep somewhere else. I shut her up by asking about her cuddling buddies. She was still covering for my nightly meetings with Alister, or at least claiming she was still covering for me. I'm not sure if anyone's questioning her, or even if anyone has noticed my absences.

I don't really care. Everything was so dream-like and almost perfect, really.

But every so often, dreams end badly.

It was the morning following one of my outings with Alister, some three weeks or so after I had evolved. It was a bright morning, the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky. Such a treacherous weather condition. I had gone down to the bathing stream, as per my routine. I was, however, quite alarmed to find no less than four of the clan leaders waiting for me. I know it was me they were after because I was immediately approached by the Umbreon patroller, but the real warning sign was the fact the Umbreon started sniffing me suspiciously. The yellow ringed canine's fur bristled when I tried to swat him away and a low, threatening growl rose from his throat.

"What the hell is going on?" I demanded, shoving the Umbreon away from me, ignoring his snarl. Let him try something, I'll kick his stupid tail.

"We finally put two and two together," the Flareon leader said, his tone unnecessarily smug.

"Congratulations, you're geniuses," I said sarcastically.

"If you think it's slipped our notice that you've been sneaking out every few nights, you're wrong. Couldn't be wronger, actually," the Jolteon patroller said from behind me. He and the Umbreon were blocking my path from behind.

"So what?" I growled, praying desperately that my fear wasn't as evident as I felt it was.

"So we've been keeping tabs on you, found a pattern in your bathing habits on the nights you'd sneak out of the clan grounds," the Flareon said, smirking. He glanced at the Umbreon. "The scent of a Growlithe, right?" My heart sank.

"Clear as day," the Umbreon responded.

"Hmm...what would you be doing with a Growlithe's scent in your fur, Darkness?" the Flareon asked in mock wonder. "This isn't the first time you've had this scent, is it?" I was far too stunned to respond, or even come up with an excuse. How had this happened?

"We talked to your Eevee friend last night," the Jolteon added. My heart sank even further. I hadn't had the chance to talk to Kira that morning, in part because she wasn't there when I came back. I assumed she was with her cuddling buddy, but that may not have been the case now. "We asked about your whereabouts and she fed us some Tauros crap."

"Hey, be fair. It was very convincing, but since we already knew most of your activities, it didn't add up and she insisted she was telling the truth. Until we revealed the extent of our knowledge."

"Most amusing look of horror ever," the Umbreon smirked. I glared at them all.

"Why were you watching me?" I demanded, shaking with anger.

"We weren't really, at first, but Jolteon there noticed that any time you took baths at night, no one had seen you for the rest of the night," the Flareon admitted.

"Then we noticed that we could never find you UNLESS you hadn't taken a nightly bath," the Vaporeon said. "So...Umbreon watched you."

"Sicko," I spat.

"Watched you leave, not watched you bathe," the Umbreon rolled his eyes. Not much better.

"We were very displeased to hear you were meeting a Growlithe, Darkness. And that's when the connections started clicking. Sneaking out at night to meet a male of a different specie. You have no known mate and refuse to reveal the identity of the mate we suspect you have, and you evolved one night," the Flareon interrupted.

"You have one chance to answer this question," the Jolteon told me. "What is the HONEST extent of your interaction with this Growlithe?" I narrowed my eyes. This had to be a trick question. If I said we were mates, I'd most likely get exiled. But would admitting it potentially redeem me? If I said we were friends...and if they didn't know otherwise, I'd probably get off the hook. But the real question is...how much DID they know? They said they followed me, but there's no way they could have followed me every time and Alister and I spent most of our time as little more than friends. Most of the time.

"We don't have all day, Darkness. We'll make you this offer. If you are mates with the Growlithe, you're out of here. If you are and you lie, your friend gets her tail kicked out too. If you tell the truth, her lying tail is pardoned. You have fifteen seconds to answer."

"Where's Kira?" I blurted. The Flareon rolled his eyes, but waved a paw vaguely at a spot behind me. I turned and saw Kira sitting beside the Espeon leader, her eyes on the ground. I fidgeted. What did they know? Could I bluff them? No, the Espeon could have read Kira's mind and Kira knew I was mates with Alister, or at least as good as mates. They had to know already. I couldn't let her take the fall for my carelessness. "I...I'm his mate," I muttered inaudibly.

"We couldn't hear that," the Vaporeon said snidely.

"SHUT UP!" I snapped, losing my cool entirely. The Eons tensed, ready to fight. I growled, my rings glowing brightly. "I said I'm his mate, happy?!"

"No," the Flareon said gleefully. Bastard. "You are a disgrace to our clan and a violator of our way of life. You have two hours to say your goodbyes and get your disgraceful tail the hell out of our territory." With this announcement, the Eons turned and walked away, leaving me alone with Kira, who was determinedly staring at the ground.

"I'm s-sorry, D-darkness," Kira whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Not your fault," I growled, storming away. I hate this clan. I hate those leaders. I hate them all. Them and their ridiculous rules, their cheap methods of spying on their members. Ugh, I hate them so much. Didn't I deserve enough privacy in my life that they didn't have the right to spy on me?! No, this was a stupid clan, where loving someone results in being thrown out of the only home you know and if you don't accept it, they'll condemn your friend to the same fate. There wasn't anyone here I wanted to say good-bye to. Good riddance to them all. Good-freaking-riddance.

I walked out of the clan grounds, my rings pulsing in my agitation, my mind racing. My life was going to hell; I could feel it with every step I took. I knew the risks, but I never thought it would actually happen. Damn it! I was losing everything and only now did the severity and seriousness of it all fall upon me. I had no home. I had no friends. I had no protectors, no clan to back me up. I was going to be alone, abandoned by my 'family' of Eevee and Eons. Alister would be all I have. Was it worth it, to be rid of those stupid, overbearing rules?

One of the perimeter patrollers gave me an apologetic look as I passed her. The look in her eyes told me she knew what had happened. She muttered a 'good luck' before continuing on her way. I scowled, but didn't reply. This whole clan sucked. I'll be happy once I'm gone. No more sneaking around, no more rules, just freedom to live my life the way I wanted to. But was the cost worth it? I don't know. It doesn't matter; it's too late for that now.

I stopped at the abrupt sound of my name. My ears twitched, trying to find the source of the call, but I couldn't hear anything. Wishful thinking, that's all it was, that someone cared that I was leaving. I started walking again. I needed to find Alister and see what could happen from this point. Images of our possible conversations flashed through my mind, many of them ending with us cuddling together as he tried to reassure me. Even in the aftermath of my simmering anger, I had a flicker of hope burning in my heart.

"Darkness! Wait up!" My ear twitched at the call. Okay, that wasn't wishful thinking, someone really was calling me. I stopped walking, looking around. I grunted when something collided with my side, nearly knocking me over. It took me several seconds to separate myself from the Eevee and see who it actually was.

"Kira?"

"Yay, you remembered me," Kira giggled, hugging my leg for some reason.

"What...what are you doing here?"

"Coming with you," Kira answered, looking up at me, her tail swishing.

"What do you mean? You weren't kicked out," I said, frowning. Kira smiled.

"I rather be with you out here than in the clan without you," she told me. I blinked, looking away, my eyes tearing up. That's...so sweet of her. I wiped my eyes hastily, but the tears returned. It was a long time before I could speak again, the Eevee's gesture was just so sweet and touching that I couldn't resist hugging Kira close to me, letting go only when she squirmed.

"Why would you do that for me?" I asked finally. "I mean, you have cuddling buddies and other friends there. It wasn't your fault what happened to me."

Kira's happy expression faltered and she sniffled, looking up at me with shining eyes, "Because...you're my friend, Darkness. What you did back there...you gave yourself up for me. If you lied, you maybe wouldn't have been exiled, but you didn't risk me for that gamble. No one else would ever have done that for me. I know it." She broke down and hugged me, sobbing into my fur. "You shouldn't be alone."

"Kira..." I whispered. Something needed to be said, some sign of gratitude, to show her how I felt, but words failed me. Her name was I could manage, but somehow I felt everything I wanted to say was present in that one word. Kira looked up at me through teary eyes. My throat closed up at the look in her eyes and my heart felt warm. She knew how I felt. We had a connection no one else had with us. Words didn't need to be spoken to convey our feelings.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Kira and I found our way closer to Alister's pack territory. My heightened sense of smell stopped us from getting lost roughly a half dozen times along the way. The smell of Growlithe was very strong, but there wasn't any in sight.

"Maybe they were just hunting in this area?" Kira suggested timidly. I shook my head. Alister told me the general location his pack was living at, and my nose was telling me there was definitely a Growlithe pack in the area. Kira had picked up the scent as well, but her senses were nowhere near as powerful as mine. I had grown accustomed to the smell of a Growlithe and it was still too new to her. Another perfect example of how stupid our clan had been about other species. Without learning various scents, it'd be so easy for an Eevee to wander into a Houndour pack's territory or something and be torn to pieces. Oh wait, the clan never wanted Eevee to leave the clan grounds, so I guess there's not supposed to be that risk.

I looked up at the sound of a growl. Kira whimpered and hid behind me as a pair of orange furred canines stepped into sight. At a quick glance, neither of them were Alister and one of them was female. "Hey! This is our territory!" the male said, baring his teeth threateningly. I growled right back, exposing my own fangs.

"I'm looking for someone!" I retorted. The Growlithe exchanged looks, the male not relaxing even by a hair.

"What would you be looking for in another specie's territory, oh prude but magnificent Umbreon?" the male sneered. I scowled. I wasn't prude. "I doubt an Eevee kit ran off this far, which is the only reason any of your arrogant kind come near us."

"I'm not looking for an Eevee. I'm looking for a Growlithe. Alister?" I answered. The Growlithe exchanged looks again.

"Why?" the female asked suspiciously.

"What's it to you?"

"It wouldn't surprise us if your kind came to assassinate one of us if we went too close to your clan," the male snorted. I stared at them.

"I don't think I'm planning to hurt him."

"I hope not. You'd have a whole pack attacking your tail," the female chuckled. She gestured with a paw for me to follow her as she turned around and began walking. Kira hesitated before following. We walked in nervous silence for a few minutes, passing a few Growlithe of various ages and gender, earning curious glances in the process. One of the kits squealed when it saw Kira and began loudly asking its parents if she was an angel. Kira's blush remained for several minutes following that scene.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest and I had to focus to maintain my breathing pace. After being thrown out of my clan, Alister was the only one left in my life that I cared about. Well, except Kira, of course. The female Growlithe startled me by barking loudly.

"Oy! Alister!"

"What?" Alister's voice called back, my stomach doing a somersault at the sound.

"There's someone who wants to see you!" the female shouted back. She paused and added a teasing tone to her voice. "It's a female!"

"Great," Alister replied, the sarcasm in his voice evident even at a distance. A few seconds later, the familiar male Growlithe stepped into my line of sight. He froze at the sight of me, his expression surprised and confused. Kira twitched nervously. Alister just stared at me, slowly regaining his composure. "Oh...uh, hey..." he said awkwardly, looking around at the other Growlithe, most of which were staring at us curiously. "Don't you all have anything better to do?" Alister complained to the onlookers.

A chorus of negatives followed his statement, the Growlithe face pawing. "Here's an idea, go somewhere else and not hold a conversation in the middle of our territory," the Growlithe escort suggested, rolling her eyes.

"Right..." Alister muttered, jerking his head to the side and walking in that direction. Kira and I followed, my friend walking so close to my side I could swear we were tied together. Alister stopped abruptly and turned back towards us, his eyes flicking to Kira uncertainly. "Uh...what do you want?" he asked.

"I kind of expected a better greeting," I grumbled, rubbing against the fire type. Again his eyes flicked to Kira. "This is Kira, my friend. Kira, this is Alister," I said, realizing what he was unsure about.

"Nice to meet you," the Growlithe said politely. Kira giggled. Alister glanced at me again, looking at me a bit worriedly. "So what's up? You've never come here before. It must have been a bit of a walk from the looks of you...didn't your clan..." he trailed off, taking note of my expression. "...notice." he finished, sighing.

"They kicked me out this morning," I grumbled. "They were following me. They asked about us. I don't know how much they actually knew, but they said they'd kick Kira out if I lied."

Alister's gaze focused on Kira again, then up at me. "Wait...so..." his attention flicked to Kira again and I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind.

"No, I didn't lie. Kira left to be with me," I answered hastily.

"That's sweet of her," Alister said. Kira giggled. "So...why are you here?"

"I have nowhere else to be, Alister," I explained. "If I'm out of the clan, I don't have to sneak around to be with you."

"That's true," the Growlithe agreed. He frowned for a moment. "It might take a bit of time to convince the pack to let you hang around here, and we're a bit busy at the moment. Tell you what, I'll have a word with the alpha, and I'll meet you later tonight, okay?"

"Later tonight?" I repeated, frowning. I didn't want to be separated from him until then. My rings glowed softly, as if sharing my unhappy thoughts. Alister licked my neck reassuringly.

"Meet you near the city, on the west side. Promise, okay?"

"Which side is the west?" I asked blankly. Alister blinked, but gave me directions to find the side, insisting he'd circle the city if he didn't find me on the proper side. "Okay," I sighed.

"I've got to get back now," he said. I nodded and kissed his cheek. His mouth twitched and he hurried back in the direction of the rest of the pack. My ears drooped. The experience itself didn't match my fantasy, but maybe he'd make it up when we met tonight. Kira nudged me reassuringly, but I knew she was intent on leaving the pack territory. Delaying no further, I led her towards the city.

* * *

I paced back and forth, looking up every few paces to see if the Growlithe had come yet, only to sigh in disappointment and resume pacing. Kira was napping a few feet away, her tail curled around herself cutely. I wonder if she misses her cuddling buddies. Having two male Eevee cuddling with you every night for a few weeks must have been great.

Minutes seemed to trickle for hours and the later into the night it got, the more agitated I became. Where was he? He promised he'd be here later, but how much later? Okay, I need to keep calm. He's been late before. He's always showed up, though. Even the times I thought he wouldn't, he had. I just needed to be patient. But I don't want to be patient! I want to feel the Growlithe's warm fur again, see the shine in his eyes, hear his gentle compliments, and taste his loving kisses again. When would he come?

It wasn't until sunlight hit my eyes that my heart sank. He hadn't come. The sun was coming up now and he still hadn't come. I had waited all night, waited awake for hours in the hopes that he would come like he said he would. His eyes had shined so sincerely when he said that he'd meet me here...when he _promised_ to meet me here. How could those caring eyes have deceived me? Why hadn't he come? All my hopes and anticipation had been for nothing. All for nothing.

All my misplaced hope flared up into anger. How could he tell me he'd come and then not show up?! He was even specific when he'd meet me and where, but he didn't show up! My blue rings flashed brightly, even in the light of the rising sun. As if aware of my change in mood, Kira jerked awake and stared at me nervously, stifling a yawn.

"D-darkness? Wh-what is it?" she asked.

"He didn't come," I growled. Kira fidgeted.

"Maybe he couldn't get away from his pack responsibilities? Don't get mad yet...go talk to him again. Find out..." she suggested. I scowled. "I'll go with you," the Eevee insisted, coming over and rubbing against me.

"Fine, whatever. But he better have a damn good excuse," I grumbled.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'GONE'!?"

"They're gone. The pack moved away. It's been in the works for days now," the unfortunate Oddish muttered. I had come to find the territory empty with the scent of Growlithe vastly diminished. I demanded answers from the first Pokémon I came across.

"All of them?" I practically shrieked.

"All of them," the Oddish agreed.

"But...but why?" I pleaded. The plant type seemed confused by my shift from angry to desperate.

"Packs are nomadic."

"Do you know where they're going?"

"No. I'm sorry, I don't know anymore. They didn't share their travel plans with a random Oddish," the plant answered.

"When did they leave?" I asked weakly, my heart sinking further than I thought possible for a heart to sink.

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Damn it..." I whined. How could this be happening to me? I turned and walked away, too distraught to even thank the Oddish for the information.

"Darkness?" Kira asked tentatively, catching a glimpse at my expression. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," I growled, roughly pushing past the Eevee. Kira flinched.

"D-darkness? What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" I snapped, lashing out my claws and beheading a flower. That didn't do a thing for me. I struck a second one, then a third. None of them helped my mood in the slightest. Kira whimpered quietly.

"Darkness..."

"I don't want to talk about it!" I snapped in reply. I knew what she wanted to say. She wanted me to tell her what happened. I growled. It hurt too much. My chest ached, my eyes burned with the makings of tears, tears I wouldn't let fall. How dare that Growlithe come into my life and then leave it without as much as a good-bye! How could he leave my life at all?! Was his pack so important to him that he'd leave me behind? Couldn't he at least have arranged to meet them later?

No, I see it now. He planned to leave me behind all along. He knew his pack was moving on, so he told me to wait for him and meet him later. Then I'd be out of his way and he could take off without me knowing. I seethed. Damn him. How could he do this to me? I thought he cared about me, thought he loved me like I loved him. I trusted him and he stabbed me in the back, left me to bleed until my heart died.

I flopped down on my stomach with a heavy sigh, my rings pulsing almost sadly. My moods kept changing. From hopeful to angry and now to sad. It's like the moods couldn't make up their mind. Yet even with the stress upon my mind, I noticed an odd pattern with my rings. They glowed differently based on my mood, the rapid and unpredictable change in my moods making the differences more obvious. Ugh, what did it matter? My life sucks. I thought I had something left when the clan dismissed me, thought there would be one thing, just one thing I'd never lose. I was right in thinking that, but I guess it wasn't Alister that I wouldn't lose, for even he was gone now. All that remained was Kira.

I buried my face in my paws. My heart felt like it was being torn in two. The ache was so intense...the feeling of longing, my silent pleas for everything to be a dream, all of it causing me unbearable agony. If I couldn't have Alister, I'd take the clan, and if I couldn't have the clan, I'd take Alister, but to have neither...why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve the taste of happiness and to have it ripped from me just when things started to turn out well? I never thought I could feel like this, like there was some gaping hole inside me.

Kira wandered over to me and burrowed under my forelegs, startling me into raising my head. She looked up into my teary eyes, her expression sweetly sympathetic. "It's okay, Darkness," the Eevee whispered, licking my cheek. I didn't answer. Kira smiled weakly and licked away the tears spilling from my eyes. She's so sweet to me...she risked her own clan life to cover up for me, and even when she was pardoned, she still took the punishment so I wouldn't be alone. And now she was giving me the comfort I so desperately craved, the comfort I had wanted Alister to give me.

She was a true friend. I owe her everything.

* * *

Kira's tentative suggestion that Alister would turn up later with an explanation turned out to be wrong. Even after two or three days, I never saw any sign of the male Growlithe and my heart ached with longing. I wanted to see him again, to believe that he hadn't left me behind; I wanted to hear his gentle voice and feel his soft, warm fur against me again. It was no good.

Kira and I had wandered around the human city a few times. I had crept into the building Alister had shown me one of the last nights and swiped a replacement bar of that amazing soap. What I had left from a previous venture had been left behind when the clan kicked me out. Kira clearly didn't really like the idea of me thieving from the human city, but I didn't care. I loved that soap. Even with the memories of Alister attached to it, the fragrance was incredible and more than enough to dispel the memories I so desperately wished to be rid of. The Growlithe I thought had loved me needed to be banished from my mind, but there was no ridding him from my heart. The spot where he had resided was replaced by a feeling of empty loneliness.

"Why do your rings glow like that?" Kira complained one night, shielding her eyes from the blue glow of my rings. I glanced at the dark blue bands, noting their gentle, rhythmic pulse, the sight carrying a vague sense of allure. They glowed so similarly once or twice before, the night I evolved and the night before my exile.

"I don't know," I muttered.

"Are you thinking of him again?" Kira asked bluntly.

"No."

"What are you thinking about?"

I frowned. I hadn't thought I had been thinking of anything. I had been on the verge of going to sleep. Kira tilted her head at my silence and cuddled a little against my side, abruptly recoiling with a puzzled look. "What's wrong?" I asked.

Kira stared at me. "You purred. Are you feeling better at all?"

I shrugged. "Not really. Sort of lonely, but not depressed."

"Anything else?"

I frowned at her, thinking about it for a few moments. "I don't know. I miss him, but that'll never go away. No matter how much I want to hate him, I miss him."

"Darkness..."

"It's nothing. Try to get some sleep, I'll go for a walk, take a quick bath" I grumbled, getting up abruptly and walking along the bank of the river we were temporarily settling near. I took my soap from its hiding spot near a deformed tree and wandered over to the shallower area of the water, where Kira and I bathed. The scent of my fur was bugging me again, much like it had the night after I evolved, and soaking in the water might improve my mood a little.

I stared out over the water for a few moments, gazing at the reflection of the almost full moon overhead. The luminous orb reminded me so much of my evolution...and of Alister. Damn it. Would I ever get this out of my mind? No, how could I? An Umbreon carried a connection with the moon and being an Umbreon was a connection to Alister. I spent nearly all of the past two months thinking and dreaming of the Growlithe, taking risks to be with him, to love him...

I growled, dipping the soap into the water and rubbing a paw over the surface of the bar until it foamed. I then scooped the foam from the bar and rubbed it over myself, almost immediately dispelling the irritating scent that had been clinging to my fur. My focus on the task offered relief from my loneliness aching in my chest.

A sudden cough brought my focus back to the water, the sound alerting me to the presence of a blue quadruped floating lazily near the surface of the water, a long elegant tail trailed behind it, ending in a type of fin. Just from a glance, I could tell it was a male, but not the same Vaporeon from the clan. "Pardon me," the Vaporeon said, looking embarrassed. "I just realized you were there and I think you'd prefer if I made my presence known and then let you be. I doubt you'd like if someone was watching you..."

I glared at the Vaporeon as he swam towards the shore. He's damn right I wouldn't like someone watching me! He stepped from the water daintily, a faint blush still on his face. Somehow his embarrassment just fueled my aggression towards him. How long had he been watching from under the water before he decided to let me know he was there? Was it some sort of trick so that he could show himself without backlash for watching me? Is that why he didn't just stay below water? Out of fear I'd discover him later? Ugh, such a stupid moron. I'd show him.

I turned and slammed a paw into his leg. He let out a startled yelp and struggled to maintain his balance. I slammed my weight into his side, throwing him off-balance entirely, and then I pounced on him aggressively, easily pinning him on his back before he could squirm away. I growled and bit his leg. "Jerk," I growled. He looked rather alarmed by my aggression.

"No, really...I'm sorry," he insisted.

"What, getting a kick out of spying on me?" I snapped. His look of bewilderment increased and I felt a stab of guilt at behaving so aggressively. Maybe it wasn't anything...maybe he was just being polite...ugh, this whole damn situation just pissed me off. "Who are you?"

"N-neptune," the Vaporeon muttered.

"From a clan?"

"No...nomadic wild," he answered. I tilted my head, then softly nibbled his neck, my anger disappearing almost instantly. I don't know why I did that, I just felt like it. I was lonely and he was a male that wasn't tied to a clan or pack. "Uh...and who are you?"

"Darkness," I said, rubbing against him experimentally. He wasn't as warm as Alister was, but it still felt nice to be so close.

* * *

"You are so mood-swingy it's ridiculous," Kira told me the following morning, looking rather put out. I think she's just envious I fell asleep with the Vaporeon instead of with her. She found the two of us sleeping snuggled together near the shore of the water. "And how did you pick up a date so fast?" she demanded. Yup, definitely jealous.

"It's not a date," I muttered.

"Random fling, then, whatever."

"You're rather bitter."

"Only because you've been sulking for the last three days and this morning you're all chipper," Kira complained.

"If she's that mood-swingy, it won't last," Neptune said dryly.

I glared at him. "Shut up, you don't know me."

The Vaporeon flinched, "Sorry...I...wasn't thinking."

"Duh," I growled.

"Calm down," Kira urged soothingly. I scowled, shooting Neptune another glare. He twitched, watching me warily. "Huh, you are mood-swingy," Kira noted.

"STOP SAYING MOOD-SWINGY!" I shouted, my rings flashing dangerously. Both of them flinched.

"Okay, please, just calm down," Neptune pleaded.

"Why? Am I too much of a hassle if I'm angry?" I snapped. Neptune gave me a weird look.

"Truth be told, I'm not comfortable being threatened a lot."

I glared at him, "I'm not threatening you."

"Actions speak louder than words, Darkness," Neptune said. "Your aggression is being directed at me no matter what I do. I'm not an emotional scapegoat just because you're in heat."

"Uh...courting season was last month," Kira said brightly. I blinked.

"I'm what?"

Neptune shrugged, "Scent and behavior told me that."

"That doesn't make sense!" I insisted. Kira nodded in agreement.

"She's..." Kira paused and sniffed my fur, blinking. "Huh...you were fine two days ago."

"I used the soap two days ago!"

"You were fine before then, too."

"How do you know?" I demanded.

Kira giggled, "For one, you weren't being excessively cuddly with a male Vaporeon you're simultaneously chewing out every few sentences."

"Lucky me," Neptune said, smiling briefly. Huh, I hadn't even noticed how close I was sitting to him. He smells nice. Kind of polite and patient too. Why am I thinking of this? Now wasn't a good time to pursue another relationship! I just lost my only relationship. Was I moving on too fast? Did it matter, so long as my heart was able to heal? Could it heal from something like this?

* * *

That night, I stared up the moon, as if it would give me answers. The sphere glowed so brightly in the vast blanket of darkness. Why did I feel so odd? Could I heal from the damage, the pain that I had to endure? Why did I feel so lonely, even with two patient Pokémon beside me? Would anyone else ever make me feel the way Alister did? Neptune was kind of cute and definitely nice, but it wasn't quite the same. I didn't feel the same connection from him that the Growlithe had formed with me. Of course it couldn't be the same; he wasn't Alister. No one was Alister but Alister.

I lay back to watch the moon, dimly aware a quiet whine of longing was rising from me. I want to know so many things. Why had Alister left? Did he miss me the way I missed him? Could my heart withstand the blows the event had on me? My ear twitched. The moon...when it was full and large like this, one could easily see indentations upon its surface. Did that mean the moon experienced batterings in the past, but yet shone as brightly as it did now? My mouth twitched at the thought. Pain...a natural part of life, yes. My heart could survive, like the moon survived. The moon and I had a history. Under the light of the moon, I first tasted love. Under the light of the moon, I evolved. My rings glowed most consistently under the moon's rays. It was so beautiful, like Alister said I was. But this beautiful symbol came with a curse attached. The moon reminded me of Alister, of what I could no longer see or have, of the night I evolved into what I will always be, because of his feelings for me. I did not hate my Umbreon body; I was happy when I evolved, I didn't need Alister to be happy to exist.

My rings pulsed with the subtle allure it had when I first evolved. I frowned at the bands. They had done that before, the other night when I impulsively wanted to snuggle with Neptune, like I had snuggled with Alister. Both times were during the full moon. Last month was Eevee courting season, and Neptune's earlier comment made me wonder. Was I experiencing the courting season instincts almost a month later? Was it a coincidence that the only times I remembered feeling those instincts after evolution was during the full moon? What did that mean? An Umbreon had an instinctual connection to the moon, but I never heard of such a thing happening to other Umbreon. No, it had to be a coincidence. Missing Alister triggered the instincts when an available male was around. That was it...right?

I shook myself and returned my focus to the luminous orb overhead. My rings pulsed brightly, shining the dark blue glow over the grass I lay upon, my attention wandering. What was I going to do with my life? Without the clan and without a stable mate, I don't know what I'll do in the future. I should talk to Kira about that later. I tilted my head towards the moon. Even a full moon has one half hidden completely from the earth. Is that why half the full moon is referred to as a quarter moon?

I sighed and got up to my feet. I could endure. That's what I had been doing since I met the Growlithe. I endured the long waits to see him, endured loneliness as I began to alienate the single males intent on courting me, and endured the stupid rules and restrictions. But this time, there was nothing concrete waiting on the other side, nothing to motivate me to continue enduring. What if I endured all the troubles and found nothing worthwhile? Was that just another unfortunate twist on life, adding to the insult that things don't always turn out the way someone wants them to?

I found a quiet spot and lay down, closing my eyes. If Neptune wanted, he might patter over and lie with me, and if he didn't, oh well. Like Alister and the clan, I couldn't control the decisions others make. I can rage about how unfair things are or I could accept the cruel irony of the world. That's all anyone could really do.

Where one thing ended and disappeared, it marked the start of something else. Like how the moon cycle ended with the New Moon, disappearing at first, but then starting the cycle back to the full moon. My life was at a new starting point and it may expand, sliver by sliver, until I can find the meaning behind everything. I'd aim for contentment before happiness. Because as Alister proved, what you think makes you happy might not actually be worth it in the end. The sacrifices and risks may backfire and cost you everything. Thank you, cruel lesson of life.

If I ever see the Growlithe again, I'll only want to know why he did what he did. It was his decision to make; he didn't have to consider my feelings when he left my life with deception and cowardice. It's not like he ever told me he loved me. No one had ever told me whether they loved me. He didn't owe me his life because I had loved him. Is it truly better to love and lose than never to love? Were my feelings for Alister really love?

When I finally slept, one final unanswerable question crossed my mind:

Would I ever find anyone else that special?

* * *

**Wow, this was the single longest chapter of anything I've ever written. Well, that wraps up the story. Would really appreciate reviews, especially if you can spare the time and effort to share your thoughts and comments about the story or if you feel like discussing a few things more in-depth. The words "foregone conclusion" pop into mind when I consider the love story aspect in general.**


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